Taktsé Castle

According to legend, it was home to the kings of Tibet before Songtsen Gampo (604–650) moved his capital to Lhasa.

It later became the birthplace of the Great Fifth Dalai Lama (1617–1682), whose aristocratic family had made their home there.

According to the Old Tibetan Chronicle, in the early 7th century a group convinced Tagbu Nyazig (Stag-bu snya-gzigs) to rebel against Gudri Zingpoje (Dgu-gri Zing-po-rje), who was, in turn, a vassal of the Zhangzhung empire under the Lig Myi dynasty.

Before his assassination around 618, he gained control of all the area around what is now Lhasa, laying the stage for his son, Songsten Gampo, to craft the regional state that would later become known as the Tibetan Empire.

The government of Namri Songtsen, centred at the castle, also sent two embassies to the Chinese Sui dynasty in 608 and 609, marking the appearance of Tibet on the international scene.