Mustang, mysterious and desirable, has isolated but richly preserved Tibetan culture outside the country. The numerous mountain passes here were once the passes of the old Salt and Sheep Road, which allowed Tibetans, Tibetan culture and materials to spread to the southern slopes, and were also once a loophole for rebel attacks. Now, the opening of the Rizi Pass has brought a new era of connotation to the interaction between China and Nepal.
Upper Mustang The Hidden Kingdom The Tibetan Buddhist culture we know as Mustang refers to the Upper Mustang, the core of which is Lo Manthang. The Lo Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Mustang, was founded in 1380 and is also known as the Hidden Tibetan Kingdom. The Bodhians, who live here, are actually Tibetans. The exhibition’s publicity states that Upper Mustang, which means Southern Plain in Tibetan, is a thousand-year-old secret place in the northern part of Nepal bordering Tibet. It was once the link between the Tubo Dynasty and the ancient Indian civilization, and also an important channel for Tibetan Buddhism to spread to the west. Its cultural texture is steeped in the subtle brushstrokes of Buddhist art of the Pala Dynasty of India, and moreover, it is saturated with the smoldering warmth of the Old Tea and Horse Trail of the Han Dynasty.
Upper Mustang Hidden Kingdom
We know that the Tibetan Buddhist cultural atmosphere of Mustang refers to the Upper Mustang, the core is Lo Manthang. The Lo Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Mustang, was founded in 1380 and is also known as the Hidden Tibetan Kingdom. The Bodhians, who live here, are actually Tibetans.
The exhibition’s publicity states that Upper Mustang, which means Southern Plain in Tibetan, is a thousand-year-old secret place in the northern part of Nepal bordering Tibet. It was once the link between the Tubo Dynasty and the ancient Indian civilization, and also an important channel for Tibetan Buddhism to spread to the west. Its cultural texture is steeped in the subtle brushstrokes of Buddhist art of the Pala Dynasty of India, and moreover, it is saturated with the smoldering warmth of the Old Tea and Horse Trail of the Han Dynasty.
Tibetan Culture Moving Southward Across the Snowy Mountains
Between the Tibetan Plateau and the plains of the South Asian subcontinent is a mountainous transition zone, where many Tibetan-Burmese-speaking peoples and tribes live. Historically, Tibetans and their culture spread southward across the Himalayas due to geographic conditions, religious struggles, and seasonal grazing in places such as Sipiti, Kinnaur, Upper Mustang, Sikkim, Bhutan, Mensum, Mechuka, and Motok, and influenced the culture of the indigenous peoples of these places. The demarcation line between Tibet and the small country of Shannan is not always the Himalayas it’s only the modern British mindset of boundary surveying that has led to the demarcation of the country’s boundaries mainly in the Himalayas.
The peoples of Shannan are further south in the Indo-Aryan cultural zone. The traditional dividing line between the two cultural zones of the two language groups is the foothills and the plains It’s only with recent developments, especially the need for tea plantations, that the Gurkhas and others have spread out into the mountains.
The rebels based in Mustang
After our army pacified the rebellion in March 1959, the remnants of the rebels fled to India, and after 1960, they rebuilt the Sishui Six Gangs Guardian Army in Mustang with the financial support of the US CIA, taking advantage of the rule that the Chinese and Nepalese armies would not cross each other’s borders, and adopting the guerrilla tactic of repeatedly dispatching small groups of people to return and attack and disturb. The Tibet Work Committee and the Tibet Military Region stepped up their fight against the rebels.
It was not until 1972, with improved relations between China and the U.S., that the U.S. completely disassociated itself from the Muksitang rebel forces, and in 1974 the Nepalese government dispatched the army to clear the area of rebel forces.
In 1959, troops from the former Chengdu Military Region participated in the counter-insurgency campaign in Tibet, and the Tibetan people actively supported the troops.
From the Old Salt and Sheep Road to Interconnection With the Tea and Horse Road in the east and the Old Salt and Sheep Road in the west, the Zhadong region of Tibet and the Dolpa Kingdom established a north-south trade network with the Moustang Kingdom through the Nesting Ground, supplying salt and other necessities to the Nepalese border people on the southern slopes of the country who were of the same Tibetan-Burmese language family. Until the establishment of the plains channel in modern times, the border was closed after 1962. But the many mountain passes were not interrupted, even during the epidemic. Because of the inaccessibility of Nepal’s mountainous borders, it is difficult to obtain some necessities from the plains to the south Our supplies are an important supplement for them. The traditional trading months are June and October. In September 2023, our Rizi port, adjacent to Mustang, passed the national inspection . It was developed on the basis of the traditional border market and salt and grain trading point. The country’s connectivity with Nepal has gained another major port access. In September 2023, our Rizi port, adjacent to Mustang, passed the national inspection The impact of climate change
In the east, there was the Tea Horse Road and in the west, there was the Salt and Sheep Road, and through the nesting grounds of the Kingdom of Dolpa in Mustang, the Zhadong region of Tibet and the Kingdom of Dolpa established a north-south trade network, providing salt and other necessities to the Nepalese borderers on the southern slopes of the country, who also belonged to the Tibetan-Burmese language family. Until the establishment of the plains channel in modern times, the border was closed after 1962. But the many mountain passes were not interrupted, even during the epidemic. Because Nepal’s mountainous border is inaccessible, it is difficult to obtain some necessities from the plains to the south Our supplies are an important supplement for them. The traditional trading months are June and October.
In September 2023, our Rizi port, adjacent to Mustang, passed the national inspection . It was developed on the basis of the traditional border market and salt and grain trading point. This is one more major crossing point in the country’s connectivity with Nepal.
As reported in the Kathmandu Post in September 2024, the industries of many residents of Mustang and other mountainous areas are mainly farming, animal husbandry and tourism. It is known for its snowy winters, but there has been no snowfall for the past three years. Snowfall protects crops from frost and pests, and soil from erosion, and winter snow is the main attraction for tourists to Mustang. Today, an alarming increase in invasive pests and the plant diseases it spreads, shrinking water-starved rangelands, and a decline in tourists are putting mountain livelihoods at risk.
Studies show that temperatures are rising every year in most parts of Nepal, especially in the mountains. The impacts of climate change are real and far-reaching. But in terms of its Tibetan roots and cultural isolation, as well as its geography, it’s a place worth visiting At the foot of the snowy mountains, snowfall disappears in Mustang, putting mountain livelihoods at risk There are more than 10,000 manmade caves in Mustang, many of them more than 1,000 years old The Jhong caves of Chhoser The Upper Mustang in spring The Upper Mustang Teegee Festival End of story. Please cite sources for reprints and reprint maps. For more on the Sino-Indian border and South Asian developments involving our country and their analysis, please click on my home page. For a daily compilation of the most professional news on South Asian developments, please click More in-depth analysis of South Asian news, please click
But in terms of its origins and cultural isolation from Tibet, as well as its geography, it is a place worth visiting At the foot of the snow-capped mountains, snowfall disappears in Mustang, putting livelihoods in the mountains at risk There are more than 10,000 manmade caves in Mustang, many of them more than 1,000 years old The Jhong Cave in Chhoser The Upper Mustang in Spring The Upper Mustang Teegee Festival
But in terms of its origins and cultural isolation from Tibet, as well as its geography, this is a place worth visiting.
The end of this article. Reprinted and reprinted map, please indicate the source. For more information about the Sino-Indian border and South Asian dynamics involving our country and its analysis, please click on my homepage. For a daily compilation of the most professional news on South Asian developments, please click More in-depth analysis of South Asian news, please click
End of this post. Please cite the source for reprints and remaps.
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