Early in the 11th century an army was dispatched from Lhasa to expel the Chinese garrison from the valley. The army was led by General Tampa Shak Dor, Shak Dor means thunderbolt or dorje in the hand. After the garrison was driven from the valley the soldiers went to a meadow and celebrated their victory. Many of the soldiers (18 levels) stayed behind to ensure that the Chinese did not return. The valley was inhabited by Mongols and Chinese. The soldiers that remained married the local women, the language that evolved was a combination of Chinese, Mongolian with a heavy emphasis on Lhasan Tibetan.
Later, in March of 1028, 4 of the 10 sons of General Tampa Shak Dor came to the valley to administer the governance. Three of his elder sons all had Sange as part of their name. Their names were Annal Ger Sange, Halter Sange and Sange Zhangsen, the 4th and youngest son to reside in the valley was Chogya Tar Dee. The village was named Sange for the 3 oldest sons. This name lasted until 1958 when it was changed to the Chinese name Wutun, which means from Tibet. The valley was called Sange Shong, or Lion Valley, the mountains were called Sange Mountains. Later to avoid confusion the valley's name was changed to Ser Shong, or golden valley. The word for the valley that now stands is Rebgong, this was coined by the President of China Hu Yao Bang shortly before he was removed from office for trying to help the Dalai Lama. He was questioning the spending of government money that was supposed to be helping the Tibetans, but he could not find any positive results.
check out the pages below for interesting pictures and stories.
The large Stupa at Ghomar monastery and village is the largest in the Amdo region, taking 5 years to build and the second largest Stupa in Tibet. It has 5 floors rising to a 125 feet. |
Nyantok monastery and village is located 1.5 kilometers north of Rongwu on the west side of the valley. It has a dubious name with different ominous versions of the origins.
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| Rongwu town is divided into two parts; the old section that is below Rongwu Monastery and the newer section that starts just north of the monastery. The older section is watched over by the monastery which sits upon a supported bluff and an ancient brick and earthen watch tower complete with arrow slots in the turret. | The Golden Valley is home to 5 monasteries. The villages are on the side of the valley, nestled into the foot hills, while the valley floor is reserved for crops. Wheat and canola are the principle crops. |
| The Upper Sange (Wutun in Chinese) Monastery was started when a group of monks from the just destroyed Tuk Mor Monastery separated from the main body of monks seeking residence at the Lower Sange Monastery. The reason for this separation is not known | Originally Sange was a meditational site, inhabited by Guru's. The Lower Sange Monastery site is the oldest in the valley, however it was originally a meditation site, then a temple was built and later this was converted into a monastery; monasteries are basically a place of teaching and residence for monks. The story surrounding the initial building of the temple has two versions, cuckoos are central in both stories. |
| Sange or Wutun village has about 3000 residents living in the traditional compacted earthen walled compounds. Every household in the village has at least one resident artist as well a family member that is a monk or lama at one of the monasteries. There are 3 or 4 small stores in the village, one of those stores is next to the one pool table pool hall. | Tuk Mor Monastery (pronounced Two Moe) lays in ruins at the north end of the valley. All that is visible from afar are the earthen walls. What happened to Tuk Mor? There are some stories and legends: take a tour of the site, read the stories and see what you decide. |