Forgotten Kingdom

Peter Goullart describes, with immediacy and detail, his time, from 1939 to 1947, in Likiang in the idyllic southwestern province of Yunnan on the borders of Tibet. His experiences and friendships brought him into contact with Lamas, the merchants, the bandits, and the Tibetans.

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Forgotten Kingdom is a classic of Asian travel. Peter Goullart describes, with immediacy and detail, his time, from 1939 to 1947, in Likiang in the idyllic south-western province of Yunnan on the borders of Tibet. His experiences and friendships brought him into personal contact with Lamas, the merchants, the bandits and the Tibetans, as well as the caravans that thronged the streets. He describes the customs and beliefs of the people, the suicide pacts, the exorcisms, and the life cycle ceremonies, many of which he attended. He was finally forced to flee with the arrival of the Chinese communists who brought an end to a way of life that had existed unchanged for centuries.