The Chumbi valley in Tibet, at the heart of the Doklam stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops, is no stranger to geopolitical contests. In an earlier age, a prominent chapter of the Great Game, a relentless 19th century competition for control for the gates of India between imperial Britain and Tsarist Russia, was written in the valley’s Himalayan villages and towns. Fearing that a Russian political gambit in Lhasa could undermine British India’s trade and commercial interests in Tibet, George Nathaniel Curzon, then Viceroy of India, picked Francis Younghusband, a blue-blooded explorer, soldier and strategist, to head for the area.

Younghusband, under Curzon’s orders, led a 1,000-strong expeditionary force, brought together in Kalimpong. His orders were clear. Younghusband was to head to Gyantse, and no further, in Tibet. The purpose was to ensure compliance, if necessary, with the application of force, with an 1893 trade treaty. That accord, signed with the Chinese suzerain of the Qing dynasty, was a free-exchange-of goods pact between India and Tibet, along with the establishment of Yadong as a trade-mart. Younghusband entered the Chumbi valley through the Jelep La pass, not far from Nathu La, which links Sikkim with Tibet.

Much has changed today in Yadong, a town encompassed by picturesque mountains and bisected by a fast-flowing stream. A small motorable bridge links the two flanks of the town. Yadong also has an impressive hilltop hotel for the travelling elite, accessed by a road which passes through a busy market. Indian goods, from Maggi noodles and Parle biscuits to cosmetics, are available here. This is the result of modest cross-border trade between Sikkim and Tibet that resumed in 2006 through Nathu La. Advertising bearing pictures of Bollywood stars — Aishwarya Rai being one of the favourites — is common in this strategic Chumbi valley town.

The spiritual side

From the base at Yadong, Nathu La, 34 km away, can be reached within an hour, along an all-weather road winding up the mountain. Yadong County, which the Chinese claim includes the Doklam plateau, also has a prominent spiritual side.

Two famous Buddhist sites — the Donggar Monastery and the Garju Monastery — are not far from Yadong. From Yadong, Brigadier General J.R.L. Macdonald, the other senior leader of the team led by Younghusband, headed to the town of Phari — a small settlement at the Tibet-Bhutan junction perched at a dizzying height of 15,000 feet.

Phari is the head of the Chumbi valley. Today, it has the appearance of a modern well-planned town, thorough which passes a quality highway that reaches Yadong, located at an altitude of over 9,000 feet. In the rear, Phari is connected with Gyantse, a bigger town, known for its famous Zongshan fortress. Traditionally, Gyantse has been known for its strong defences, mainly on account of its prized strategic location. North of Gyantse lies Shigatse, the gateway to Nepal, and to the east is the Tibetan capital, Lhasa.

Not long before the Doklam stand-off, deepening economic engagement between Tibet and Sikkim had become part of the official imagination. Two years ago, speaking to a visiting Indian media delegation at Yadong, former Chinese Ambassador to India, Le Yucheng, after concluding a visit with the Chief Minister of Sikkim, Pawan Chamling, had observed: “Sikkim is the closest state to China. Why not (develop) tourism? Why not trade? Why not investment? Why not environment protection because Chief Minister of Sikkim is known as the ‘green’ Chief Minister. We also now have the strategy on environment protection.”

(Atul Aneja works for The Hindu and is based in Beijing)