Yumbulagang 雍布拉康

About Yumbulagang

Tibetan tradition connects it with the first kings and the beginnings of settled agriculture; the surviving palace-temple has been reconstructed after twentieth-century destruction. A narrow tower dominates the rear, while shrine rooms and platforms occupy the lower buildings. Murals tell the stories of the first ruler, first building and first field. The hilltop position gives these traditions a visible setting in the farmland below.

The fifth Dalai Lama (第五世达赖喇嘛) converted the palace into a temple housing a statue of Shakyamuni (释迦牟尼). It became a Tibet Autonomous Region Cultural Relics Protection Unit in 1962. Restoration after 1982 was followed by further work beginning in November 2017 to reinforce wooden foundations and repair cracked walls.

The ground floor includes a 33-square-metre entrance hall and an adjoining covered platform, with a shrine behind. Above it, a platform enclosed on three sides by low walls precedes a corridor around a courtyard. During the fifth Dalai Lama's period, a four-sided pyramidal golden roof was added to the tower.

What to look for

• The tower and gilded roof above the reconstructed palace-temple.
• The murals of early Tibetan traditions and the view over the Yarlung fields.

Location & getting there

Getting to Yumbulagang

Head to Yumbulagang on Tashi Tsering hill in Changzhu, south of Tsedang in Nedong District.

• The final approach rises from the valley floor to the hilltop; plan the climb separately from the road journey.