The Gyantse Dzong is a medieval citadel situated in Gyantse

The Gyantse Dzong is Gyantse's town fort sitting upon a hill just north of Gyantse town on China-Nepal Hwy. Wherever you are in Gyantse, the Dzong can be seen. However, the fort lies abandoned today and many of its interior walls and buildings are in disrepair.

 
Gyantse Castle or Gyantse Fortress or Gyantse Dzong is a medieval citadel situated in Gyantse, Xigazê Prefecture in China. It was constructed in 1268 by a Sakyapa sect (one of many Buddhist schools) in the beginning of the Nyang Qu river. This strategic location guarded a Southern pass of the Tsangpo Valley and Lhasa. The entrance to the compound is on the Eastern side. Current citadel was constructed on a site of an older 9th century fortifications constructed by anti- Buddhist king Langdharma. Its name literally means "the peak of victory". Prince Phakpa Pelzangpo (1318- 1370) erected a Grand Palace Gyantse in 1365 and his son Kungpa Phakpa (1357- 1412) added new fortification walls. Gyantse Castle harbors an "anti- British" museum devoted to British invasion of 1903- 04.

The fort is partly ruined, but there are still some things to see. There is an interesting Anti-British Imperialists Museum here displaying a version of the facts of the 1904 British invasion of Tibet and a major battle that took place. The British used massive firepower to defeat a much less powerful Tibetan army here and a part of the fort was blown up during the battle.
The half hour climb up to the fort is well worth it, as the spot offers fantastic vistas of the monastery compound to the north, the town below, and the surrounding valley.