TSEDANG: Tsedang (3100 meters) is a small city located 185 km southeast of Lhasa in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Tsedang was the capital of Yarlung and, as such, a place of great importance. In the 19th century it is said to have contained some 1,000 houses, a bazaar, a gompa and a fort. It is now the capital of Shannan prefecture and the second-largest town in the region. It is at an elevation of 3,900 metres and it is only about 4 km to the northeast of the town of Nêdong but they have now basically merged into one city. It is situated near the flank of Mount Gongbori and is home to the ruins of the ancient Gajiu Monastery. It is known as the cradle of Tibetan’s civilization. Samye, Tibet’s first monastery is located 30 km from Tsedang and was founded in 779 CE by King Trisong Detsen.
YUMBU LAKHANG: Yumbu Lakhang is an ancient structure in the Yarlung Valley in the vicinity of Tsedang. It is also known as the Yungbulakang Palace, the first palace in Tibet, is located on the Zhaxi Ceri Mountain, five kilometers away from Nedong County in Lhoka Prefecture of Tibet. It was the first building in Tibet and the palace of the first Tibetan king, Nyatri Tsenpo. Yumbu Lakhang stands on a hill on the eastern bank of the Yarlung River in the Yarlung Valley.
SAMYE MONASTERY: Samye Monasterry: It is the first and foremost (8th century) Buddhist monastery built in Tibet. It was founded by the King Trisiong Detsen and belongs to the Nyingmapa and Sakyapa sects. The construction consists of three styles, namely the Han, the Tibetan and the Indian. It has been constructed in the Madala shape in an isolated part of Tibet across the Brahmaputra River.
