Geelong Valley in Shigatse

The Geelong Valley in Shigatse is the start point of the ancient Tibet-Nepal road. Songtsen Gampo married Princess Bhrukuti of Nepal here and the famous Master Padmasambhava entered into Tibet to spread the Tibetan Buddhism through this port. These famous historical celebrities made Geelong Valley a mysterious and attractive place.

Geelong Valley in Shigatse – Brief Introduction

There are many cracks at the southwestern foot of Himalayas (which is widely noted as the Roof the World) and these cracks acted as the passages between Tibet and Nepal since ancient times for their low altitude. Among all these cracks between Tibet and Nepal, Geelong Valley is one of the most important one. Geelong Town is located at the center of the Ancient Geelong Road. Songtsen Gampo constructed a temporary palace here to marry Princess Bhrukuti and Master Padmasambhava chose Geelong Town as his first stop for the spreading of Buddhism culture.

Hidden in the middle section of Geelong Zangbo Canyon, Geelong Valley is located in Geelong County in Shigatse Prefecture. With an altitude around 2000 meters, Geelong Valley is pretty long and narrow. This crack stretches to Nepal at the other side of the high mountain. The earliest record regarding the Ancient Tibet-Nepal Road could be dated back to the early period of the 7th Century, in which period Songtsen Gampo appointed an ambassador to Nepal to seek a marriage alliance. It is said that Princess Bhrukuti left one of the three Statues of Sakyamuni brought from Nepal at Geelong Valley and constructed the Paba Monastery. Tourists making a Tibet tour and pay a visit to Geelong County could witness the stone-wood structured monastery of typical southeastern Asia architectural style. The exquisite murals in the ancient monastery always leave visitors deep impression.

Princess Bhrukuti brought a large number of craftsmen and Buddhists into Tibet through the Geelong Valley and there is also a certain number of monks went to India for studying Buddhism via this port in Chinese Tang Dynasty. Among all these Buddhists, Master Padmasambhava from India is the most noted one. Actually, Master Padmasambhava gave name to this valley – Geelong means "a village of happiness" and "a comfortable village" in Tibetan.

Geelong Valley in Shigatse – Geelong Port

Geelong Valley also played important role in the business communication between Tibet and Nepal since ancient times. Geelong Town has been an important trade port for it's located on the ancient road. The businessmen in Tibet and Nepal would come to Geelong Town for trading after the Ancient Tibet-Nepal Road was opened to traffic. The Tibetan businessmen use their medicinal materials, wool products, cheese and butter to exchange the Nepalese businessmen's copper wares, wood carving, gems, Buddhism sutras and so on.

To ensure the border trade at Geelong Town, the government established a customs office here in 1961. In 1978, Geelong Town was listed as a state first-class land trade port. In the same year, China and Nepal reached an agreement that the border civilians in Tibet and Nepal could do trade activities freely within 30 miles in the other country. Currently, great importance has been attached to the basic construction of Geelong Port.