[2025 Gongbo'gyamda Attraction] Travel Guide for Xiuba Castle (Updated Mar)

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.

Fourth Day Walking into a Tibetan Home Today, Guide Yang took us to visit a Tibetan home. We departed from the hotel at eight in the morning. This hotel claims to be three-star, but the breakfast was terrible, and the room didn't even have towels or bath towels, with only one tissue which was far from enough. Guide Yang is very diligent; he started explaining as soon as we got on the bus. He talked about the ancient fortress group of the Gongbu Tibetan culture. He said that the Gongbu Tibetans commemorate Sakyamuni by exposing their right arm, tying it with a belt, and wearing a round-topped hat with two hat tails. He mentioned that the Gongbu people have excellently preserved their traditional handicrafts, and their craftsmanship is superb. Today, Guide Yang took us to visit a Tibetan home. The hostess of this Tibetan home is named Moon. Her father is the village secretary. She said she is 48 years old, has a 5-year-old grandson, and her four children include a doctor, a teacher, and a graduate student. Moon is very eloquent, friendly, and enthusiastic, with a quick response and well-organized speech. Through her eloquent narration, I learned about Tibetan history and culture, especially gaining some understanding of the Gongbu Tibetans. Most of her time was spent talking about the past and present of the Tibetans, their history and culture. I knew she mainly wanted to sell silver jewelry. She is very different from salespeople in many places. Listening to her talk, you gain insights and reflections. For example, she said that the Han and Tibetan people need to communicate; only through communication can there be understanding and support. Indeed, communication is needed between ethnic groups and between people. Only with communication can there be understanding, empathy, and willingness to give. She was very sincere, and in the end, I bought a silver comb. After leaving the Tibetan home, we went to the Xiuba Ancient Fortress. The Xiuba Ancient Fortress is located in Xiuba Village, Bahe Town, Gongbujiangda County. 'Xiuba' means 'skinning' in Tibetan. The Xiuba Ancient Fortress has a history of over 1600 years. It is the oldest, most historical, densest, and best-preserved ancient fortress group in Tibet, housing the largest prayer wheel in Tibet. The entire fortress group is surrounded by a square formation, giving visitors the feeling of being on an ancient battlefield. Walking into the Xiuba Ancient Fortress at noon, it didn't feel hot but rather cool, as the fortress is surrounded by plants, mostly peach trees that are hundreds or even thousands of years old. Some peach trees have hollow trunks but still green leaves, and some branches even have ganoderma growing on them. It is said that in spring, the peach blossoms of the fortress are one of the most beautiful sights in Tibet. In the Xiuba Ancient Fortress, you can also admire the largest prayer wheel in Tibet, the Gesar Command Platform, the Prayer Flag Tower, and the Blue Peacock, among other cultural and natural wonders. Visitors to the fortress can feel the rich historical atmosphere, as if traveling back in time to a thousand years ago. There is also a legend about the Xiuba Ancient Fortress. Legend has it that the Xiuba Ancient Fortress was built over a thousand years ago by Songtsen Gampo during his conquests to facilitate communication between the army and for garrison and defense purposes, thus constructing these fortresses with ruling symbols. The Xiuba Ancient Fortress predates the Potala Palace by 300 years and is one of Tibet's important historical and cultural heritages. For dinner, we had stone pot mushroom chicken soup. Guide Yang said to eat the chicken first, drink the soup, and finally blanch the vegetables. Everyone enjoyed this dinner. Eight strangers from all over the country gradually started communicating while adding ingredients and soup to the hot pot, making the meal more flavorful. Of course, everyone didn't eat much rice but had steamed buns made of highland barley, which were extremely delicious. On the way back to Lhasa, we also checked in at the internet-famous bridge. Standing on the bridge, overlooking the night view of Lhasa, walking on the bridge with the evening breeze was quite pleasant. However, the night view couldn't compare to that of Xiamen.

About 5 kilometers southeast of Nyingchi city, there is a 20-hectare King Cypress Garden, which contains many ancient cypresses that are over a thousand years old. The largest one is more than 3,200 years old, 50 meters tall, and has a circumference of 15 meters. Unfortunately, the garden was closed for renovation, and we missed the chance to see it in person. Another 5 kilometers to the southeast is the Gala Peach Garden, which is open to the public for free. However, the season had passed, and the peach blossoms had all fallen, leaving a lush green landscape. To appreciate the peach blossoms of Nyingchi, one should visit in late March when the garden must be a captivating sight of spring. Our next destination was the thousand-year-old castle in Xiuba Village, Bahetown, Gongbu Jiangda County, about 90 kilometers from the Gala Peach Garden. There is a fairly large parking lot next to the G318 national highway outside Xiuba Village, which offers free parking but was completely empty. A yellow cow was wandering around the lot and approached us curiously when we arrived. At the exit stands a multi-tiered square prayer tower with a prayer wheel inside that is 4 to 5 meters tall, said to be the largest in Tibet. On the hillside inside the parking lot, there are terraced houses with the golden characters 'Xiuba Thousand-Year-Old Castle' in both Chinese and Tibetan hanging prominently on the base wall. Climbing the stone steps leads up to the building. Xiuba Village is located on the mountaintop behind the ancient castle. To the west of the prayer tower, there is an asphalt road leading to Xiuba Village, and at the intersection, there is a ticket booth where people over the age of 60 get half-price tickets for 20 yuan, and one can drive up the mountain into the village. Once in the village, you can see the thousand-year-old castle of Xiuba, which are towers on the mountain. Originally there were seven, said to be arranged in the pattern of the Big Dipper, but now only five remain, with a history of 1,600 years, standing as an architectural marvel. The towers are 20 to 30 meters high conical columns, with convex-shaped fronts on all sides. The walls are built of slab stones, about 2 meters thick, and the interior was originally divided into nine floors with wooden boards, all of which have decayed. There is no written record of who built the towers or why, but it may be related to ancient wars or religious prayers. After visiting the Xiuba Thousand-Year-Old Castle, we took the provincial road S504 to the Basong Lake scenic area, located northeast of Xiuba Village, in the canyon upstream of the Cuogu Langge River, about 43 kilometers from the road. Basong Lake is a sacred place for the Red Sect (Nyingma) of Tibetan Buddhism with a long history. Tickets for the scenic area, including the sightseeing bus, cost 105 yuan per person for those over 60 years old. The sightseeing bus has three stops: the viewing platform, the heart of the lake island, and Jieba Village. We first took the bus to Jieba Village deep in the scenic area, about 11 kilometers from the entrance. 'Jieba' in Tibetan means 'forgotten' and is not related to the Chinese term for stuttering. Legend has it that it was the place where a devout pilgrim who circled the lake to worship Buddha lost and then found his saddle. When asked the name of the place, he laughed and said 'Jieba,' and that's how it got its name. Jieba Village is a local eco-tourism demonstration village, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, lakes, and forests, with wild Tibetan pigs roaming the hills, houses in the style of the Gongbu Tibetan people, and more than 80 simple and sincere Tibetan residents, known as a forgotten paradise. If not for the tight schedule, this would be a place to stay and savor. Leaving Jieba Village by bus and traveling about 7 kilometers towards the entrance of the scenic area, we arrived at the main attraction of the Basong Lake scenic area, the heart of the lake island. According to mythology, beneath the island is the palace of the Basong Lake Dragon Princess, and one can only hope she still resides there in peace. The heart of the lake island is a few dozen meters from the shore, and two floating bridges have been built for the convenience of visitors, which have also become popular photo spots. The Tsokung Garba Monastery on the island is a thousand-year-old ancient monastery of the Nyingma sect. It is not very large, but it contains ancient murals that are still recognizable, and in front of the monastery stands a tall prayer flag pole. The island is home to many thousand-year-old oak trees with twisted branches and dragon-like claws, which have a unique appearance and seem different from the same species elsewhere. On the island, one can also learn about the cultural customs of fertility worship and sky burial. Around 5 p.m., the sky was filled with thick clouds, and it was getting dark on the ground. We were reluctant to leave, so we took the bus to the viewing platform between the heart of the lake island and the entrance to the scenic area. The viewing platform is not on flat ground but requires climbing two or three hundred steps. From the high platform, one can see the clouds hanging low, the snow-capped mountains towering, the highland lake setting off the heart of the lake island, and the dense forest all in view. However, the strong mountain wind made it difficult to stand still, and the cold was piercing, so we had to hurry down from the viewing platform and end our visit to the Basong Lake scenic area.