Gyantse

Nestled in chains of mountains, Gyantse Town is situated in the south of the Tibet Autonomous Region. At 4,040 meters above sea level, it covers a small area of 4.5 square meters and has a population of about 10,000. It was proclaimed as a historical and cultural city by the State Council.

Gyantse means the zenith of success in the Tibetan language. Because the Nianchu River flowed via it, the area of Gyantse was called Nian. The ancient town of Gyantse has a history of six to seven hundred years. For it is the place people must pass from Shakya, Shigatse and Yangdong Pass to Lhasa and vice versa, and abounds in local products, Gyantse has long been the gathering place for Buddhists, merchants and tourists, and enjoyed much fame in Tibet.

The Palkor Monastery is the symbolic architecture of Gyantse, and is reputed as the One Hundred-Thousand-Buddha Tower. Built in the period when various sects stood up to one another nip and tuck, the monastery is characterized by the peaceful coexistence of these sects, each of which has six to seven halls.

On one side of the Palkor Monastery stands a white tower that is famous far and wide in the globe. It is 32 meters high, with 108 doors and 77 niches. It is said that there are altogether more than 100,000 Buddha statues engraved on the tower; hence the name "One Hundred-Thousand-Buddha Tower."

Gyantse is rich in local products and enjoys convenient transportation. It is worth the title of city of heroes. A fierce fight against British invasion once occurred here. In 1904, British army intruded here, the local people built up an emplacement on Zongshan Mountain and launched a heroic bloody battle with the enemy with locally made canons, guns, swords and arrows. The battle lasted eight months, and finally all fighters died game jumping from the cliff and wrote a splendid, solemn and stirring chapter in the history.

The replacement that was used to fight against British invasion still stands on Zongshan Mountain. In order to commemorate the historic event, people set up the monument for the martyrs who jumped from the cliff. The film Red River Valley drew its materials from this historical story.