Lajiali Royal Palace Ruins 拉加里王宫遗址

About Lajiali Royal Palace Ruins

Lajiali Royal Palace Ruins (拉加里王宫遗址) are the remains of the palace of the Lhagyari dynasty (拉加里王朝), on a terrace on the south side of the county town of Qusum (曲松), Shannan (山南), Tibet. Building began in the 13th century.

The Qusum county government puts the palace 63 km from Tsetang (泽当). The Lhagyari rulers were a family descended from the royal house of the Tibetan empire, the Tubo (吐蕃), and kept their royal power through the periods of Sakya (萨迦) and Phagmodrupa (帕竹) rule; the Shannan city government calls the palace the symbol of that power. It stands on tall earth pillars (土林) carved by wind and frost, and Shannan describes it as the best-known building in Qusum, seen as soon as you reach the town.

The surviving buildings fall into three phases. The early palace, called Zhaxi Qunzong (扎西群宗) in Tibetan, dates from the 13th century; a stretch of palace wall, up to 12 m high according to Chinese Wikipedia, and the south and north gates remain. The middle-period palace, Gandan Lazi (甘丹拉孜), also called Lhagyari Phodrang (拉加里颇章), was built in the 15th century and is the main surviving complex, made up of the palace, a lhakhang (拉康) hall, storerooms, a square and stables. Chinese Wikipedia records that it once had five storeys, of which three remain, along with some fragments of murals. The late Summer Palace (夏宫), from the 18th century, is a courtyard compound in Han Chinese style.

The Tibet Autonomous Region listed the palace as a regional cultural relics protection unit on 16 April 1996, and on 25 June 2001 it became a national key cultural relics protection unit, in the fifth group. Chinese Wikipedia notes that the site keeps most of its original layout and that the Han influence in its buildings is very rare among Tibetan palaces. Shannan's account is frank about the condition: the once-imposing palace blocks are badly ruined, and carved and painted decoration survives only in a few corners.

What to look for

• Remnants of the 13th-century Zhaxi Qunzong (扎西群宗) palace wall, up to 12 m high, with its south and north gates
• Gandan Lazi (甘丹拉孜), the 15th-century main palace, three of its original five storeys still standing
• Traces of murals in Gandan Lazi, and carved and painted decoration in a few corners of the ruined buildings
• The storerooms, square and stables of the middle-period complex
• The 18th-century Summer Palace (夏宫), a courtyard compound in Han Chinese style
• The tall earth pillars on which the palace stands, on the south side of Qusum town

Location & getting there

Getting to Lajiali Royal Palace Ruins

• Search for 拉加里王宫遗址 with 山南市 and 曲松县.