Mustang: A place more Tibet than Tibet

木斯塘

Among the 10 snow-capped mountains with an altitude of over 8000 meters in the Himalayas, two of them are named Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. Maybe you have not heard of it, maybe you have seen it in the photos, but no one knows that behind these two snow-capped mountains, there is a mysterious kingdom that has existed for nearly 600 years, until the death of the last king in 2008 It disappeared forever in the long river of history. It was called Mustang, which was called Luoyu in ancient times.

Musitang is located in the area bordering China's Tibet in northern Nepal. It belongs to Nepal, but the local customs maintain the Tibetan customs.

Mustang

Mustang was once part of Tibet in history. At the end of the 18th century, this mysterious little country was conquered by the Gurkha tribe of Nepal and became a part of the Kingdom of Nepal until now.

Musitang is known as the "Quiet Place" by the outside world. In Mustang, you can see the continuous snow-capped mountains in the distance, the vegetation on the nearby slopes has become scarce, and the Tibetan bungalows , Temples are scattered on both sides of the highway.

Mustang tourism opened in the 1970s only for the citizens of Nepal, where foreigners were not allowed to enter for a long time.

Musitang is hidden in the depths of the Himalayas, and the local area has been closed to the country, so now the customs and landscapes hundreds of years ago are preserved.

Musitang has an average elevation of over 2500 meters and a population of about 15,000.

For 600 years, Luomantang, the capital of Mustang, has kept the outline of the city when it was first built. The city wall remains enclosed, but the city gate is no longer closed at night.

In the early morning, the golden light of the sun smeared on the mountain behind the royal city, and the green barley fields outside the city and the ochre-red high walls of the temple became soft.

Except for the Luomantang, the capital city surrounded by city walls, most areas of Mustang are hard to find, and there are occasional caravans chasing yaks.

Not long ago, a Mustang herder found Buddhist strokes in a cave, which once made Mustang famous. Located in the east of Mustang, this Buddhist mural is the best-preserved Tibetan Buddhist cave mural in the world.

This cave temple is called "Taskabu" and it was only opened to the public a few years ago. In the center of the cave is a huge white shrine with colorful patterns painted on the walls and ceiling.

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In Mustang, you can feel the fusion of ancient and modern here. There are still villagers living in caves on the cliff. Cave dwelling seems to be a way of life that the villagers learned and inherited from ancient humans, and the monks are more willing to retreat in solitary caves.

Recently, the market seems to be particularly interested in so-called artworks from the Mustang area, and this small mountain country hidden on the leeward side of the Himalayas has attracted the attention of more people who like Himalayan art. It used to be a small semi-independent kingdom under the rule of Nepal, a Tibetan cultural enclave in the Hindu-dominated Nepal cultural circle. Its isolated and enclosed area has long limited the number of visitors. With its unique religious culture, It seems to have been shrouded in a veil of mystery in the eyes of the world.

Musitang is located in the middle-western part of Nepal, the upper reaches of the Kaligandaki River, on the border of the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. The name Mustang actually got its name from the Newar language, and in the Tibetan context, this area is called Lo, and its capital is Manthang (Manthang or Lo Manthang), and its capital and its The surrounding Kaligandaki River Valley constitutes the main part of Mustang and is also the control area of ​​current travel restrictions. In a broad sense, the Mustang area also includes the so-called Xia Mustang area, which is now the main administrative area of ​​this area, Johnson, and the nearby villages of Marfa, Kabeni and Mutina.

Musitang’s capital, Luomantang, this huge Sumda pagoda by the road is one of the largest and most beautiful pagodas in the Mustang area.

Musitang The big stupa on the south side of the village, overlooking the village and fields to the north.

Luli Cave Temple Exterior

(Tibetan Buddhist Wall Paintings of Mustang,NEPAl)

As one of the few rivers that completely run through the Himalayas, since ancient times, the Kaligandaki Valley It serves as an important communication channel between the Tibet Plateau and the South Asian subcontinent. Caravans, travellers, monks, and pilgrims continued to traverse the world's deepest gorge formed by Dhaulagiri and Annapurna along the galloping valley, from the fertile Ganges plain to the vast snowy area. They brought trade and wealth, disseminated new teaching methods and knowledge, thereby promoting the exchange of culture and art, and thus left rich and breathtaking cultural relics here. Generally speaking, when discussing Mustang art, the focus of most discussions will be on the Mustang Kingdom established by Amapo in the fifteenth century. Because of its royal family’s strong support for the Sakya School, it was established in its capital, Mansong. A series of large-scale royal temple frescoes and the statues that followed them. However, in recent years, archaeological research on the murals of cave temples in some remote valleys of Mustang has gradually revealed the trajectory of early art development in this place. Among them, as this article will introduce you to the Luli cave temple, Tibetan art It is even more important in the development of history.