The Guge Kingdom (a Buddhist civilization rich with art and culture) was founded at the end of the 10th century. It flourished until its demise in the 17th century.

During the period of disintegration of Tibet, in 923, the Water-Sheep year, Kyide Nyimagon, the undisputed lineage-holder of the Three Great Kings of Tibet, went first to Pureng Ralairu. In 934 of the Wood-horse year, Rala Kharmar was built. Gradually, Nyizung Kukhar was built, and after introducing a new law, Purang, Guge, Maryul and other areas were brought under his control. His son Thri Tashi Gon built Guge fort after carving the blue slate hill of Guge. Since then, 26 Kings ruled there for more than 700 years forming thereby a Guge kingdom of what came to be known as the Cap-size Small Kingdom in Upper Tibet. The author was born in Ruchang, Ngari of Tibet. He escaped in 1959 and sought political asylum in 1960. Graduated from Tibet Homes Foundation in 1973 and obtained BA Degree from Punjab University in 1977. He joined CTA as a junior clerk on 15th June 1977 and at the time of his retirement from CTA on 15th December 2012, he was working as general secretary. He has also authored other books like History of Ngari, Rosary of white Pearl a youngster’s ornament in Tibetan and Mount Kailash the White Mirror, Ngari Tibet in English.

During the period of disintegration of Tibet, in 923, the Water-Sheep year, Kyide Nyimagon, the undisputed lineage-holder of the Three Great Kings of Tibet, went first to Pureng Ralairu. In 934 of the Wood-horse year, Rala Kharmar was built. Gradually, Nyizung Kukhar was built, and after introducing a new law, Purang, Guge, Maryul and other areas were brought under his control. His son Thri Tashi Gon built Guge fort after carving the blue slate hill of Guge. Since then, 26 Kings ruled there for more than 700 years forming thereby a Guge kingdom of what came to be known as the Cap-size Small Kingdom in Upper Tibet. The author was born in Ruchang, Ngari of Tibet. He escaped in 1959 and sought political asylum in 1960. Graduated from Tibet Homes Foundation in 1973 and obtained BA Degree from Punjab University in 1977. He joined CTA as a junior clerk on 15th June 1977 and at the time of his retirement from CTA on 15th December 2012, he was working as general secretary. He has also authored other books like History of Ngari, Rosary of white Pearl a youngster’s ornament in Tibetan and Mount Kailash the White Mirror, Ngari Tibet in English.

Neville Agnew, senior principal project specialist at the GCI, is the author of numerous publications in research chemistry and conservation, including (with two coauthors) the book Cave Temples of Mogao: Art and History on the Silk Road. --Book Jacket.

Exploring ethnic Tibet independently is a challenge. With the 'land of snows' having some of the wildest and roughest road routes in high Asia, motoring, mountain-biking and trekking options are all given due attention in this new edition. High quality, numerous maps set this guide apart from other guides on Tibet and the trekking section has been expanded to include more on the main treks, including Everest Base Camp, Genden to Samye, Namtso trek and Kailiash region treks. Particular attention has been paid to the Amdo and Kham regions, not usually covered in guidebooks. Political and cultural issues make Tibet a sensitive destination for Westerners, so Michael Buckley's authoritative advice includes guidelines on cultural etiquette, local customs, and travelling with minimum impact on the culture and environment. The chapter on language includes a section covering Tibetan script.

Recent archaeological discoveries and scientific research especially focussed on western Tibet and the western Himalayas have resulted in a remarkable redefinition of the historical and cultural processes of the entire Indo-Tibetan civilisation. The present volume reflects these sometimes startling new insights for the first time, covering the wide time range from the Zhang zhung period up to the 20th century, spanning secular, religious and economic history, as well as art and archaeology.

Recent archaeological discoveries and scientific research especially focussed on western Tibet and the western Himalayas have resulted in a remarkable redefinition of the historical and cultural processes of the entire Indo-Tibetan civilisation. The present volume reflects these sometimes startling new insights for the first time, covering the wide time range from the Zhang zhung period up to the 20th century, spanning secular, religious and economic history, as well as art and archaeology.

This book approaches the concept of geo-architecture from the perspective of functions of architectures by analyzing the cases of traditional Chinese houses and tombs as well as palaces and places of worship. Houses and tombs, the ‘Yang’ dwellings and ‘Yin’ dwellings of human beings in traditional Chinese interpretation, are the two types of architectures that reveal the wisdom with which different ethnic groups adapted to different geographic environments at different times throughout the long history. Palaces are connected with various religious architectures throughout the Chinese history. The connection between imperial power and religion, along with its geographic and cultural connotations, are implicated in the pattern and layout of religious and imperial architectures. This book is the second of a 4-volume book series. The series develops the innovative concept of “geo-architecture” by exploring the myriad influences of natural, human and historical factors upon architecture. These influences are considered in three categories, namely, interaction between architecture and nature, interaction between architecture and its human users and change in architecture over time--each category serves as a lens. Augmenting these lenses is the Time-Person-Place concept applied different geographic. The analysis ultimately focuses on two aspects: geographic influence on architecture and architectural response to geography. The over 1000 pictures of case architectures enriches the study with stunning and unique visual angles. "This unprecedented work will be a unique and valuable contribution to the literature. Integrating as it does the disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture, and geography, Wang Fang’s voice is original, compelling, and will be much appreciated by English-speaking readers (and inside China, too, I can only imagine.)"Stephen M Ervin Assistant Dean Graduate School of Design, Harvard University July 2nd, 2013 "One reason for why there would be interest is because her research would fill some significant gaps in the literature.What is novel about Dr. Wang’s series is that she further extends this intellectual project of looking at Chinese architecture through Chinese eyes, by taking it one provocative step further."Annette M. Kim Associate Professor Department of Urban Studies and Planning, M.I.T. July 1st, 2013