Shuba Ancient Fort(秀巴古堡) is situated in the Gongbogyamda County, about 55 km away from the county seat. It was constructed with stones and wood in the Tang Dynasty, even 300 years earlier than the world-famous Potala Palace. It is the most famous scenic spot in the Niyang River Scenic Belt. Xiuba Ancient Castle is composed of 5 castles with different heights, ranging from 20 to 60 meters respectively. Originally, there were a total of 7 castles. Meanwhile, due to years without restoration, 2 of them have collapsed and there only left 5 existing castles. However, among the 5 castles, only 3 were in relatively good condition.
The first one is the Batang Ancient Castle group with an area of 1400 square meters. The second one is the Xueka Village Ancient Castle group. The third one is the Xiuba Millenary Ancient Castle group. The walls of the castles are about 2 m thick. The roof has overlooking holes that are used to watch far, to shoot arrows at enemies, or to set off smoke signals.
The is another castle called Praying Tower with five stories. It is 28 meters high and once was used to pray for military triumph. There is a giant prayer wheel with a diameter of 3 meters in the tower. A large quantity of Tibetans would come here to pray for health, peace and happiness.
Xiuba means “skinning” in Tibetan language. Long time ago, there lived 2 monks who practiced different sects, one for Bon and another for Gelug. However, the Bon sect got more power than Gelug. The monk of Bon imprisoned one of Gelug and finally skinned him after a Buddhist argument. Hence, this monastery got the name “Shuba ”.
Shuba Ancient Castles integrated the cultural relics and natural landscapes. It keeps attracting visitors here for sightseeing and exploring its ancient castles and local folk customs.
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