Qonggyai County or Chongye ( Tibetan : འཕྱོངས་རྒྱས་རྫོང , Chinese : 琼结县 ) is a county under jurisdiction of Shannan in the Tibet Autonomous Region , China.
20-538: Qonggyai contains the Valley of the Kings , a series of graveyard tumuli , approximately 27 kilometres (17 mi) south of Tsetang , Tibet , near the town of Chongye or Qonggyai on Mure Mountain. The site possesses eight large mounds of earth resembling natural hills that are believed to contain eight to ten buried Tibetan kings. According to Tibetan tradition all the kings from Dri-gum onwards are buried at ‘Phyong-rgyas, but as
40-637: A central tomb chamber that is about 100 square meters in area and 13.4 meters (about 44 feet) high. Gampo's silver coffin is believed to be surrounded statues of him Anders of Sakyamuni and Avalokitesvara . Buried at the head of the coffin is a coral statue of Lord Loyak Gyalo, who is intended to give light to the dead king; at the foot of the coffin is a cache of pears weighing 35 kilograms, wrapped in silk, that symbolize Gampo's share of wealth. The tomb is, notably, believed to contain an extensive number of large gold and silver utensils, reliquary and commemorative artifacts. According to Tibetan history books such as
60-667: A forest area of 0.7 million mu. The county had a total population of 20,000 people in 2003. Qonggyai County is located in southern Tibet and is surrounded by mountains. It has an average elevation of about 3900 meters, with a maximum altitude of 6450 meters. It is in a temperate semi-arid plateau monsoon climate zone, with an annual frost-free period of about 125~53 days. The annual rainfall is 345 millimeters and natural disasters, mainly droughts, floods, hail and pests are common. Mineral resources include mainly crystal stone, jade , chromium and iron . Antelope , black-necked crane , otter , swan , eagle and river deer are common. Qonggyai
80-444: A maximum altitude of 6450 meters. It is in a temperate semi-arid plateau monsoon climate zone, with an annual frost-free period of about 125~53 days. The annual rainfall is 345 millimeters and natural disasters, mainly droughts, floods, hail and pests are common. Mineral resources include mainly crystal stone, jade , chromium and iron . Antelope , black-necked crane , otter , swan , eagle and river deer are common. Qonggyai
100-457: A population of nearly 500 people. Commercial, financial, telecommunications, hospitals, schools and other public facilities are located in this small political, economic, and cultural center. Qonggyai County contains 1 town and 3 townships . Valley of the Kings (Tibet) The Valley of the Kings ( Tibetan : བོད་རྗེ་པང་སོ , Wylie : bod rje bang so ; Chinese : 藏王墓 ; pinyin : Zàngwáng Mù ) or Chongye Valley branches off
120-474: A silver coffin, with nine smaller chambers filled with treasures. According to the funeral rites listed in the annals, on the left side was a suit of armor worn by Songtsen Gampo on expedition, and on the right side were knights and battle horses made of solid gold which had been sacrificed with the king. Other sources indicate that the Tibetan Annals document has the inner part of the tomb having five halls and
140-528: Is a county under jurisdiction of Shannan in the Tibet Autonomous Region , China. Qonggyai contains the Valley of the Kings , a series of graveyard tumuli , approximately 27 kilometres (17 mi) south of Tsetang , Tibet , near the town of Chongye or Qonggyai on Mure Mountain. The site possesses eight large mounds of earth resembling natural hills that are believed to contain eight to ten buried Tibetan kings. According to Tibetan tradition all
160-690: Is dominated by agriculture, and is one of the grain based counties in Shannan. Crops grown are mainly highland barley , winter wheat, spring wheat, peas, radish, potatoes and so on. Livestock include yak, pianniu, cattle, sheep, goats, mainly. A forested area of 150 acres (0.61 km ) contains some apple, pear and peach orchards. Ethnic handicrafts forms most of the industrial sector and products include buckets, kettles, Tibetan cabinets, bowls, bracelets, necklaces, incense, butter lamps, etc. The capital, Qonggyai Town (Qonggyai, Chongye) contains an ancient castle, and covers 0.5 km (0.19 sq mi), with
180-635: Is dominated by agriculture, and is one of the grain based counties in Shannan. Crops grown are mainly highland barley , winter wheat, spring wheat, peas, radish, potatoes and so on. Livestock include yak, pianniu, cattle, sheep, goats, mainly. A forested area of 150 acres (0.61 km) contains some apple, pear and peach orchards. Ethnic handicrafts forms most of the industrial sector and products include buckets, kettles, Tibetan cabinets, bowls, bracelets, necklaces, incense, butter lamps, etc. The capital, Qonggyai Town (Qonggyai, Chongye) contains an ancient castle, and covers 0.5 km (0.19 sq mi), with
200-464: Is located in the middle of the Brahmaputra River valley and covers an area of 1030 square km, with 2.8 million mu of arable land, an area of 1.3 million mu of grassland, with a forest area of 0.7 million mu. The county had a total population of 20,000 people in 2003. Qonggyai County is located in southern Tibet and is surrounded by mountains. It has an average elevation of about 3900 meters, with
220-597: The Grand Ceremonies of the Wise , Chronicle of Tibetan Kings and Officials , and Chronicles of Tibetan Kings and Clansmen , there were believed to be a total of 35 tombs of Tibetan Kings and concubines from the 29th Tuboking to the last, divided into groups, with each group centred in a separate area in the Valley of Kings. Qonggyai County Qonggyai County or Chongye ( Tibetan : འཕྱོངས་རྒྱས་རྫོང , Chinese : 琼结县 )
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#1732848678958240-552: The Tibetan Empire ), Mangsong Mangtsen , Tridu Songtsen , Gyangtsa Laban , Me Agtsom , Trisong Detsen , Muné Tsenpo and Ralpacan . Qonggyai Dzong was established in mid-14th century under Phagmodrupa rule. Under the Ganden Podrang , the county was part of Lhoka Governor's ( Tibetan : སྤྱི་ཁྱབ་ , Wylie : spyi khyab ) jurisdiction. Since 1960, Qonggyai county is part of Lhoka (Shannan) prefecture . Qonggyai County
260-477: The Tibetan Empire ), Nansong Mangsten , Tridu Songtsen , Gyangtsa Laban , Tride Tsugtsen , Trisong Detsen , Muni Tsangpo and Tritsu Detsen . The largest of the mounds, located near the north bank of the Qonggyai (Chonggye) River, has a reconstructed 13th-century temple dedicated to Songtsen Gampo . The temple was rebuilt with restored murals in 1983 and is maintained by three monks. Gampo's statue sits in
280-589: The Yarlung Valley to the southwest and contains a series of graveyard tumuli , approximately 27 kilometres (17 mi) south of Tsetang , Tibet , near the town of Qonggyai on Mure Mountain in Qonggyai County of the Shannan Prefecture . The site has eight large mounds of earth resembling natural hills that are believed to contain eight to ten buried Tibetan kings. "According to Tibetan tradition all
300-468: The 8th century AD. A number of scholars have raised doubts that this is the actual place where Gampo was laid to rest, given that it has not been formally excavated; others have speculated that he was actually interred in Jokhang , Lhasa . According to the ancient Tibetan Annals and Tibetan tradition, however, his tomb is believed to be located deep beneath the ground in a central, subterranean chamber in
320-416: The centre of the temple's altar, surrounded by statues of his Chinese wife, Wen Cheng , and his Nepalese wife, Tritsun , who holds a crystal ball. Eminent ministers stand to the side, including Sambhota , a noted Tibetan philologist held to be the founder of Tibetan writing. Behind this altar statue display is a crowned Maitreya with two Sakyamunis and a mural on the right wall depicting Indian deities of
340-446: The kings from Dri-gum onwards are buried at ‘Phyong-rgyas, but as the site now presents itself, there are just ten tumuli identifiable as the tombs of all the kings from Srong-brtsan-sgam-po to Khri-lde-srong-brtsan , including two princes . . . ." Other sources, however, have indicated that there are actually nine mounds rather than eight or ten. The kings believed to be buried at the site include Songtsen Gampo (the founder of
360-437: The kings from Dri-gum onwards are buried at ‘Phyong-rgyas, but as the site now presents itself, there are just ten tumuli identifiable as the tombs of all the kings from Srong-brtsan-sgam-po to Khri-lde-srong-brtsan , including two princes. Other sources, however, have indicated that there are actually nine mounds rather than eight or ten. The kings believed to be buried at the site include Songtsen Gampo (the founder of
380-526: The site now presents itself, there are just ten tumuli identifiable as the tombs of all the kings from Srong-brtsan-sgam-po to Khri-lde-srong-brtsan , including two princes. Other sources, however, have indicated that there are actually nine mounds rather than eight or ten. The kings believed to be buried at the site include Songtsen Gampo (the founder of the Tibetan Empire ), Mangsong Mangtsen , Tridu Songtsen , Gyangtsa Laban , Me Agtsom , Trisong Detsen , Muné Tsenpo and Ralpacan . Qonggyai Dzong
400-458: Was established in mid-14th century under Phagmodrupa rule. Under the Ganden Podrang , the county was part of Lhoka Governor's ( Tibetan : སྤྱི་ཁྱབ་ , Wylie : spyi khyab ) jurisdiction. Since 1960, Qonggyai county is part of Lhoka (Shannan) prefecture . Qonggyai County is located in the middle of the Brahmaputra River valley and covers an area of 1030 square km, with 2.8 million mu of arable land, an area of 1.3 million mu of grassland, with
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