Guge, the Lost Kingdom of Tibet

In the middle ages a kingdom in western Tibet stood at the heart of the silk roads and became a refuge for those fleeing India during the Muslim invasions.

This was Guge, whose remains still tower into the sky to this day, apparently as high as a 40 floor skyscraper, and build like a living fortress.

This film is a co-production of Discovery Networks Asia and France 5, along the lines of a NetGeo documentary, with commentary from John Bellezza and Tsering Gyalpo.

The documentary alternates between investigating the present work on the site, and trying to piece together why the Kingdom eventually died out after 700 years.

At its peak it was one of the most powerful and influential Buddhist Kingdoms that existed, with the Kings actively supporting Buddhism and inviting in specialists.

The murals and other material remains which we get to see in the documentary are very impressive and its downfall, following the machinations of a Jesuit, even more of a tragedy.