ABSTRACT
GYANTSE Formerly Tibet’s third town, an important crossroads between Tibet, India, Nepal and Bhutan, and a centre for the wool trade. After the battle in January 1904 when the British expedition commanded by Colonel Francis Younghusband killed six hundred Tibetans it became the site of a British trade mission. Its cosmopolitan nature is commemorated in its “Golden Pagoda”, Kumbun. Built in 1427 this is the largest stupa in Tibet and the best example of Nepalese Newari art in the world. Its murals show Chinese as well as Nepalese influence and are amongst the finest surviving early Tibetan wall paintings.
