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28-746: In ancient times, Kodari, the Nepalese village on the other side, was the starting point of a trans-Himalayan caravan route. Newar traders headed north from Kodari and after crossing Kuti pass turned east to continue their journey across the Tibetan Plateau to Lhasa . The construction of the 115 kilometres (71 mi) Kathmandu-Kodari Road occurred during the 1963–67 period. It was named China National Highway 318 in China and Araniko Highway in Nepal. China has long planned and discussed building

56-508: A Nepali king named Go Cha (identified by Sylvain Lévi as "Udayavarman", from the literal meaning of the Tibetan name) was said to have a daughter called Bri-btumn or Bhṛkuti. "Udayavarman" was most likely the same king we know as Udayadeva, the son of Śivadeva I and later, the adopted son and heir to Aṃshuvarmā. He was also thought to be the father of Narendradeva (Tib: Miwang-Lha ). If this

84-510: A ghost town as trading could not return to previous levels. When the crossing was still closed, traffic began diverting to the border crossing at Gyirong Town and (on the Nepalese side) past Rasuwa Fort further west along the border. Chinese and Nepali officials met in December 2016 to discuss potential reopening of Zhangmu port in 2017, which was blocked by progress of road construction. The checkpoint finally reopened on 29 May 2019. Zhangmu

112-496: A railway connecting Lhasa with Zhangmu on the Nepal-China border, from 2008 onwards. It would be an extension of the 1,956 kilometres (1,215 mi) Qinghai-Tibet Railway . However, as of late 2018, its quite clear China is waiting for Nepalese government to actually seriously commit to a railway from there to Kathmandu through mountainous terrain, which is anticipated to take at least nine years to build. (The Chinese side of

140-766: A time. Lhasa, as a center on the Silk Road, attracted merchant caravans from across Central Asia with whom the Lhasa Newars engaged in trade. A few business houses also maintained shops in Leh , Ladakh which lies on the caravan route to Kashgar in Chinese Central Asia. Kolkata was a center of wholesale trade. Lhasa Newar artisans created statues, painted paubhas and frescoes and built temples in Tibet and other parts of Central Asia, and were instrumental in

168-462: Is accepted, it means that Narendradeva and Bhrikuti Devi were brother and sister. We do have some fairly detailed historical accounts of Narendradeva. The (Jiu) Tangshu , or Old Book of Tang , records that when the king of Nepal , the father of Licchavi king Naling Deva (or Narendradeva), died, an uncle (Yu.sna kug.ti = Vishnagupta) usurped the throne. "The Tibetans gave him [Narendradeva] refuge and reestablished him on his throne [in 641]; that

196-803: Is also called the Manuvajra, the Ramoche Jowo, or Jowo Chungpa. It is currently housed in the Ramoche Temple in Lhasa. Through history, the Jokhang temple had been sacked at least two times – first during the Mongol invasions and later it was gutted in the 1960s during the Chinese invasion and Cultural Revolution . It is said that the lower half of the statue was found in a Lhasa rubbish dump and

224-436: Is how he became subject to Tibet." It is not known exactly when Bhrikuti married Songtsen Gampo, but it was presumably about the time that Narendradeva fled to Tibet (c. 621 CE), following Dhruvadeva's take-over of the throne (who, according to an inscription dated in 623, was ruling jointly with Jiṣṇugupta.) This is considered to be the oldest copy of the famous traditional history, the dBa' bzhed , states: Bhrikuti

252-606: Is just north of and above the Friendship Bridge border crossing where China National Highway 318 becomes Araniko Highway and immediately passes Kodari village in Sindhupalchok District en route to Kathmandu . Before the earthquake, tourists traveling between Nepal and the Tibet made substantial use of this crossing, and there was also substantial trans-border trade. Chinese trucks traveling on

280-400: Is not certain, and no reference to her has been found among the documents discovered at Dunhuang , "there are increasing indications supporting this hypothesis." There were certainly very close relationships between Tibet and Nepal at this period and, "Such a mythological interpretation discredits in no way the historical likelihood of such a marriage...." Many Tibetan accounts make Bhrikuti

308-515: Is they who construct for the Buddhist temples those fine roofs of gilt plates, which resist all the inclemencies of the seasons and always retain a marvellous freshness and glitter. They are so skilful at this class of work that they are sent to the very interior of Tartary to decorate the Lamaseries. Newar artists gained importance after the destruction of Indian Buddhism in 1203 as they were

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336-646: The Tub-wang and other statues in Samye and the famous Nepali artist Thro-wo carved the revered statue of Chenresig , Thungji Chen-po rang-jung nga-ldan . The famous statue Bhrikuti brought is called the Jowo Mikyo Dorje , which came originally from Bodhgaya and, according to the 8th Dalai Lama , the statue rested in Swayambhunath for seven months before being brought into Tibet. This statue

364-571: The Uray , Bajracharya , Shakya and Dhakhwa. There were also many Shresthas and Maharjans among them. Newar traders exported finished products from Nepal and India to Tibet and brought back goods from Tibet and other parts of Central Asia . Metal utensils, sacred statues and rice from Nepal, and textiles and other factory products from India were the main exports to Tibet. The Lhasa Newars brought back gold dust, wool, musk pods, pelts and yak tails which were forwarded to Kolkata. The older generation in

392-418: The Lhasa Newars officially dates from the seventh century with the marriage of Nepalese Princess Bhrikuti with Tibetan King Songtsän Gampo . The traders and artisans who accompanied Bhrikuti to Lhasa as part of her retinue established commercial and cultural ties between Nepal and Tibet. In the 1640s, a treaty was negotiated under which Newar merchants were allowed to establish 32 business houses in Lhasa. It

420-548: The Tibet-Nepal Friendship Highway offload goods at Zhangmu and transfer them to Nepalese trucks. Even though the drive between Zhangmu and Kathmandu is only 5 hours, the sourcing logistics and bureaucracy of cross-border trade takes around 2 weeks, as such in 2013 it takes each Nepalese truck almost half a month for a round trip. Lhasa Newar (trans-Himalayan traders) Lhasa Newar (alternate name: Lhasa Newah ) ( Newar : ल्हासा नेवा ) refers to

448-566: The artistic styles of Tibet, Bhutan, China and Mongolia. Lhasa Newars have been the subject of ballads, epic poetry and novels in Nepal Bhasa and other languages, mostly on the theme of loneliness and couples forced to endure long periods of separation. Bhrikuti Bhrikuti Devi ( Sanskrit : भृकुटी ), known to Tibetans as Bal-mo-bza' Khri-btsun , Bhelsa Tritsun ("Besa" Nepal lit.   ' Nepali consort ' ) or simply Khri bTsun ( lit.   ' royal lady ' ),

476-406: The daughter of Amshuvarma (605–621 CE), co-ruler and successor of Śivadeva I. If this is correct, the marriage to Songtsen Gampo must have taken place sometime before 624 CE. Acharya Kirti Tulku Lobsang Tenzin, however, states that Songstän Gampo married Bhrkuti Devi, the daughter of king "Angsu Varma" or Amshuvarma (Tib: Waser Gocha ) of Nepal in 632. According to some Tibetan legends, however,

504-566: The exchange of art styles across the Himalaya . The thousand-year-old Lhasa Newar tradition came to an end after the caravan route linking India and Tibet through Sikkim was shut down by the Sino-Indian War in 1962. Subsequently, the merchants and craftsmen based in Tibet closed up shop and returned home to Nepal for the last time. According to folklore, Singha Sartha Aju was the first merchant to travel to Tibet. The history of

532-610: The expatriate Newar traders and artisans who traveled between the Kathmandu Valley and Tibet from centuries ago. These Nepalese merchants conducted trade between Nepal , Tibet and Bengal , India over the Silk Road , and acted as a bridge for economic and cultural exchanges between South Asia and Central Asia . Along with the merchants, there were colonies of artisans in various parts of Tibet who were engaged in creating Buddhist art. They were major players in

560-677: The north of Kathmandu to travel to Lhasa. From the 1930s, a new caravan route over the lower Nathu La and Jelep La passes on the border between Sikkim and Tibet became more popular. These passes were approached through Gangtok in Sikkim and Kalimpong in West Bengal , India. The Lhasa Newars lived in Lhasa , Shigatse and Gyantse in Tibet and in Kolkata and Kalimpong in India for years at

588-528: The only remaining experts in traditional Buddhist art. Tibetan artists thus turned to them for inspiration and learned the Newar style, or Beri as it is now known. The style prevailed for more than four centuries, and reached its peak from 1360 to 1460 when it was adopted as Tibet's universal painting style. The period from the 14th to the 16th centuries is considered a golden age of Nepalese art. During this time, Newar artists travelled widely and left their mark on

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616-417: The route, 500 km, is essentially unpopulated) Therefore, any railway connecting the current terminus at Xigaze to Kathmandu would be unlikely before 2030. In 2012, China signed agreement with Nepal to make this one of six ports of entries between Nepal and China. Zhangmu was evacuated after being damaged by the 2015 earthquakes, which also closed the route between Nepal and China (TAS region). It became

644-640: The spread and development of Buddhist art throughout the region. The Jokhang Temple in Lhasa and the Kumbum Stupa in Gyantse are examples of their artistic legacy in Tibet. The White Dagoba in Beijing , China , built by Arniko in the 13th century, is another specimen of the artistry of the Lhasa Newars. Newar artists were the most sought after among the foreign artists living in Tibet. French missionary traveller Évariste Régis Huc has written that it

672-579: The village of Sankhu also regularly play Mahjong brought from Tibet. Mule, donkey and yak caravans transported the trade goods over the Himalaya and across the Tibetan Plateau. In Nepal, porters carried the loads over the mountains on their backs. The trade route connecting India and Tibet goes over the Himalaya. The Lhasa Newars used the Gyirong (Kyirong, Nepali : केरुङ , kerung ) and Kuti ( Nepali : कुती ) ( Nyalam Tong La ) passes to

700-618: Was a devout Buddhist as was her father, and she brought many sacred buddhist images along with expert Newari craftsmen to Tibet as part of her dowry. Songtsen Gampo and Bhrikuti built the great temple, the Tsulag Khang (or 'House of Wisdom') to house the images, which is now known as the Jokhang Temple ('House of the Lord') in the heart of Lhasa, and is considered to be the most sacred temple in Tibet. Her statue of Jowo Mikyo Dorje

728-516: Was a princess of the Licchavi kingdom in Nepal . In c.622 Bhrikuti became the first wife and queen of the king of Tibet , Songtsen Gampo (c.605–650 CE). Bhrikuti was seen as an incarnation of Green Tara , and is credited for bringing Buddhism to Tibet, together with the Jowo Mikyo Dorje statue for which the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa was built. Even though the historicity of Bhrikuti Devi

756-954: Was also agreed that Nepal would mint coins for Tibet. By this time, the number of traders had risen considerably. Eighteenth-century traveller Ippolito Desideri noted that merchants of Nepal were "numerous" in Lhasá. The Newars were also organized into "pala" ( Newar : पाला ) societies which arranged the celebration of festivals and provided a place for get-togethers. The merchants celebrated Mohani and other feasts like they did in Kathmandu. There were 10 "palas" originally in Lhasa, and seven remained active until recent times—Chyatangya, Chhusingsyar, Ghorasyar, Jhwala, Lhakam, Kun and Tarunsyar. The Newars in Shigatse and other places in Tibet had their own "palas". Returning merchants and craftsmen were called "Lhasa Newars". Most of them were Buddhist Newars like

784-567: Was then housed in the Jokhang. They also built the red palace of dMar-po-ri which shifted the ancient seat of government in the Yarlung Valley at Yumbulakhang to the site of modern Lhasa . The Red Palace, or Red Fort (Mar-po-ri Pho-drang) on Marpo Ri (Red Mountain) in Lhasa that was later rebuilt into the thirteen storey Potala by the Fifth Dalai Lama , was originally constructed by Nepali craftsmen. She also had constructed

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