Gyangze Horse-Racing Festival
Gyangzê Horse-Racing Festival
The festival commemorates the highest (in terms of altitude) battle in history, which took place between the Tibetans and the invading British troops in 1903. The British, under the command of Sir Francis Younghusband, slaughtered 600 Tibetans at Guru before moving on to GyangzÉ. He then marched into the capital, Lhasa, and forced the acceptance of a trade treaty with the Dalai Lama, Tibet's ruler.
China Tibet Information Center
3/F A2 Building (Rongfeng 2008) BLK 8
305 Guang An Men Wai St.
Beijing, Xuanwu District 100055 China
86-10-5833-6057
eng.tibet.cn
WildPlanet-1995, p. 295