Yungbulakang Palace in Nedong District, Lhoka (Shannan)
Chinese Name：雍布拉康
English Name: Yungbulakang Palace
Location: Located in Nedong County(乃东区), Lhoka Prefecture(山南市), Tibet Autonomous Region, China
Admission fee: 60 RMB
Opening hours: 9:00～18：00
About Yungbulakang Palace
Yungbulakang Palace also known as Yumbu Lakhang is an ancient structure in the Yarlung Valley in the vicinity of Tsetang(泽当镇). According to legend, 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(雅鲁藏布江) in the Yarlung Valley（雅鲁藏布江河谷） of southeast Nêdong County about 192 kilometres southeast of Lhasa(拉萨) and 9 kilometres south of Tsetang.
History and Development of Yungbulakang Palace
According to Bon traditions, Yumbu Lakhang was erected in the second century A.D for the first Tibetan king, Nyatri Tsenpo, who descended from the sky. During the reign of the 28th king, Thothori Nyantsen, in the fifth century A.D, a golden stupa, a jewel (and/or a form to the manufacture of dough-Stupas) and a sutra that no one could read fell from the sky onto the roof of the Yumbu Lakhang; a voice from the sky announced, “In five generations one shall come that understands its meaning!” Later, Yumbu Lakhang became the summer palace of the 33rd Tibetan king, Songtsän Gampo (604-650 A.D) and his Chinese princess, Wencheng. After Songtsän Gampo had transferred the seat of his temporal and spiritual authority to Lhasa(拉萨), Yumbu Lakhang became a shrine. A thousand years later, during the reign of the 5th Dalai Lama (1617-82), the palace was turned into a monastery for the Gelug school. The Yumbu Lakhang was heavily damaged and reduced to a single storey during the Cultural revolution but was reconstructed in 1983.
Main Attractions- Yungbulakang Palace
The castle is divided into front and rear precincts. The front is a three-storey building while the rear is dominated by a tall tower, like a castle. Enshrined at the palace are the statues of Thiesung Sangjie Buddha, King Niechi, the first King of Tibet, Songsten Gampo and other Tubo kings. Traditionally, it is said that the first cultivated field in Tibet, called Zortang, is located to the northwest, below Yumbu Lakhang. Even today, farmers sprinkle soil from Zortang on their own fields to ensure a good harvest. There used to be a temple, Lharu Menlha, containing images of the Eight Medicine Buddhas near the field.
Attraction Transportation
You can fly to Lhasa Kongga International Airport(拉萨贡嘎国际机场）and then take the bus to Shigatse（日喀则or Lhoka(山南市). And there are some bus to Nedong.
Attraction Travel Tips
1. Traveling Hours: 1~2 hours
2. Traveling Seasons: Summer and Autumn
3. High Altitude Sickness Avoiding: Bring enough water and some thick clothes, eating more fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins and so on.
