Dream of Tibet 14 - Xiuba Castle

Dream of Tibet 14 ——Xiuba Millennium Castle On August 7, 2024, we set out from Milin City to visit Xiuba Castle. The Millennium Xiuba Castle is located in Xiuba Village, Bahe Town, Gongbujiangda County. It is also called "Rongbao", which is what people usually call a beacon tower. This group of ancient castles is the oldest, most historic, most densely distributed and most structurally complete in Tibet. According to research, the castle was built in the late Tang Dynasty and has a history of more than a thousand years. Walking into the wooden gate of the ancient castle complex, you can see five fortresses of different sizes in the distance, standing under the blue sky, looking majestic and magnificent. The fortresses are 30 to 50 meters apart. The tour guide said that the castle complex covers an area of ​​about 10 hectares. There were originally 7 castles arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper. Two of them collapsed due to long-term erosion by wind and rain. There are now 5 fortresses of different heights, 3 of which are very dangerous and cannot be approached. We walked into one of the relatively well-preserved and safe castles and took a closer look. It was discovered that the castle was built of stone slabs. There was no adhesive between the stones, but they were all straight. The appearance was a twelve-sided twelve-prism with nine floors. This is consistent with the traditional architectural concept of "the sky is round and the earth is square" in mainland China, and is also consistent with the traditional architectural style of Tibet. The castle is hollow and has no roof. It is octagonal inside. The walls are about two meters thick and are embedded with wooden boards. One can climb to the top of the castle. Now the wooden boards have rusted away, leaving only small holes where the wooden boards were inlaid, spiraling upwards. Standing at the bottom and looking up, you can see a circular patio above the towering castle, with bright light shining through. The ancient castle is still very solid after thousands of years, towering into the sky, fully demonstrating the exquisite construction skills of the ancient Tibetan people. Even contemporary architectural experts are amazed. The area around the castle has been carefully arranged and surrounded by stone houses, which support each other in different heights, forming a defense system that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is as solid as a rock. There are many ancient peach trees around the castle. I heard that every spring when the peach blossoms are in full bloom, a grand peach blossom festival is held here. Standing under the ancient castle, you can also overlook the snow-capped mountains in the distance. There is a snow-capped mountain that looks like Maitreya Buddha, surrounded by a white Hada. Legend has it that the Xiuba Millennium Castle was built by Songtsen Gampo more than 1,000 years ago during his conquests to facilitate communication between troops, garrisoning troops and defense. This was a symbol of his rule. However, another legend popular among the local Tibetan people is more mythological. Legend has it that the area around Xiuba Village was the first battlefield where King Gesar conquered the demons. Because the ancient castle was the fortress where the demon Qinbanaba lived, the demon was in a dominant position and occupied an advantageous terrain, while King Gesar's troops had no protection and failed to capture the castle after three years of hard fighting. Later, King Gesar received guidance from gods and Buddhas in his dreams, and was told that he would surely succeed if he attacked with a bow and arrow at dawn. So King Gesar sent a general with a team of archers to quietly climb the top of the mountain opposite Xiuba Village at night. At dawn, sharp arrows were shot at the ancient castle. The demons were caught off guard and had to surrender. To this day, there are still arrow marks on the huge rocks on the top of the mountain in Xiuba Village. Whether it is the wise emperor Songtsen Gampo in history or the legendary King Gesar, their civil and military achievements and heroic deeds are widely sung in Tibetan areas and represent an ancient glory. In the next issue, please enjoy "Dream of Tibet 15 - Naughty Tibetan Macaques". Please stay tuned.