In the 2nd century B.C., people of Mongolian origin, who had settled on the Tibetan high plateau, established a number of dominions. The kingdom in Tsangpo Valley with its capital Lhasa, is considered to be the cradle of Tibetan culture. Only a short distance to the south of Lhasa, on 4500m, there is Lake Yamdrok Tso. Tibetans regard this lake as a goddess in the shape of a scorpion. Above its surface, Ninchin Kangsa rises majestically into the sky.