Qonggyai County

Qonggyai County or Chongye is a county of Shannan in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. History Qonggyai contains the Valley of the Kings, a series of graveyard tumuli, approximately south of Tsetang, Tibet, near the town of Chongye or Qonggyai on Mure Mountain. The site possesses eight large mounds of earth resembling natural hills that are believed to contain eight to ten buried Tibetan kings. Other sources, however, have indicated that there are actually nine mounds rather than eight or ten. The kings believed to be buried at the site include Songtsen Gampo (the founder of the Tibetan Empire), Mangsong Mangtsen, Tridu Songtsen, Gyangtsa Laban, Me Agtsom, Trisong Detsen, Muné Tsenpo and Ralpacan. Qonggyai Dzong was established in mid-14th century under Phagmodrupa rule. Under the Ganden Podrang, the county was part of Lhoka Governor's jurisdiction. Since 1960, Qonggyai county is part of Lhoka (Shannan) prefecture.