It was a forbidden place, and thus irresistible. A timeless land in the sky and another worldly people, and no use for the wheel but as a spinner of prayers, and so they came, westerners intent on exploring Tibet and its elusive capital--Lhasa. Few survived the trials of fire, ice and violence that awaited them on Tibet’s natural ramparts, where so many others had failed, two would succeed, one prevailed through stealth, a spy whose feats of espionage still rank among the greatest in the world, but have almost been forgotten. The other, prevailed through force, leaving a trail of blood and tears that will shock the world and utterly transformed the victor. These are the tales of their epic journeys, in the fantastic and deadly race for Tibet.

Winter,1865, an overburdened caravan descends from the snowy passes of the Himalayas into the forbidden land. Few tread lightly here, most foreigner are turned back or killed. But these hardy merchants carried coveted goods from neighbouring lands. The caravan has picked up a pious hitchhiker of sort, a lone holy man on a pilgrimage, the only other kind of incursion that Tibetans welcome. But strangely, the Buddhist’s strides are always exactly the same link, his rosary is missing several beads, and his prayer wheel contains no prayers. He is a spy,not a monk, if discovered ,he will die. The routes of NanXing secret journey run as deep and as old as the world's obsession with the magical kingdom on the rooftop of the world.

At the heart of Asia, thrusts some 3 miles in the air by a clash of continents, Tibet is an astounding natural fortress, the size of western Europe. For hundreds of years, Tibetans saw no need to bar foreigners, only a handful survived the trek through the surrounding mountains and deserts, and these proved no threat to their cherished Buddhist theocracy. Here, every fourth person was a monk or a nun.

But by the 1800s,Tibet began to feel the pressure of two new powers in Asia, Britain, effectively in control of India since 1833, had been steadily expanding its influence northward into the Himalayas. Russia, meanwhile, was swallowing up territory in central Asia, as it pushed its empire eastwards. Tibetan knew little about the outsiders, except that both powers were Christian, not Buddhist. Fearing for their way of their life, the land of monks closed its borders, paradoxically, it was the closing of Tibet that ensured the west would have to pry it open again.

“And this was during the era of exploration, where people wanted to get to ,into Antarctica, to the north pole,they wanted to go up the Nile ,and so Lhasa became a real ,as we might say toady, as a real destination, but nobody could get there.”

“You had the last European in Lhasa in 1811,and then you suddenly have a gap, when you right up into the very end of the 19th century, when you get no foreigners or no Europeans managing to go into Tibet, And this creates, it's great kind of mystery of Tibet, and the idea that somehow people had to break through and sort of reach the forbidden city of Lhasa.

In India, paranoia is as much as curiosity drove the need to get into neighboring Tibet. It was the era of the great game, a cold war between Russia and Britain for the domination of central Asia. The British feared that if the Russians were to gain a foothold in Tibet. They might use it as a base for invading India. The forbidden land became the centre square on the chessboard of the great game. One map needed to be explored and mapped at all costs.

The Russians were coming and this created a great deal of anxiety. The probem was that Tibet was basically closed, so that left the Brits with the problem, how do you map Tibet if you can't get in and have a look.

It was a young officer in the royal engineers who hit upon Britains best hope in the race for Tibet. Thomas George Montgomery had spent years overseeing natives in the great trigonometrical survey of India. A massive British effort to create an accurate map of the entire Indian subcontinent. He also noted that Indians often passed freely into Tibet where no white man would be allowed. Perhaps an Indian spy trained in the arts of espionage and surveying might penetrate Tibet disguised as a trader or holy man.

Captain Montgomery in typical colonial fashion had some doubts whether a native of sufficient intelligence and [] nerve might be found, but obtained permission to give it as planned or tried. Thus began, the unlikely career of one of the most 6 successful spies in the history of espionage. NanXing, an 33-year-old teacher had grown up in the shadows of himalayas. His family had traded in Tibet and he could read and write Tibetan. He quickly accepted the assignment despite his dangerous.

NanXing was just one of those people, you know, their individuals were a great achieve * He was the man living in a very little more village. I mean what kind of opportunities did he have to, you know, really accomplish something really great.

In 1863, the young school teacher reported for duty at the survey of India's headquarters in D. There he would undergo 2 years of intensive training in the arts of surveying. He learned the use of sextant in the compass into locating his position using the stars. Through endless repetition, the navar spy learned to walk in an exactly measure pace. 31 and half inches a stride or 2000 paces to the mile. He would keep track of those paces on a rosary. The Buddhist's rosary contains 108 beads, a holy number. NanXing's rosary would have only 100 to more easily keep track of his start.

Montgomery had dubbed him the Pounded, Hindi for Wise One, and sent him on his way. His daunting task to find his way to Lhasa, the forbidden city. To chart his course, counting every stride along the way. And a spy and the political religious and economic life of Lhasa for as long as possible.

NanXing knew what fate awaited him if he were caught, and almost certain --death. It would take NanXing 8 frustrating months to cross into Tibet. At first, the Pounded had tried to enter through Nepal desguised as a horse trader, but suspicous border guards turned him away. He managed to slip by those same border guards a few weeks later, desguised as a holy man. He'd already acquired an escort, the first of several caravans that would offered him protection on the dangerious journey. In the outline areas of Tibet banned its far out number monks.

NanXing seemed to have been quite the favorite with this caravans. Some of whom would avouch for him when Tibetans they encountered grew curious. But sometimes the Pundit had to travel alone. Once when his companions had the chance to travel by river, he had to make his excuses to continue on foot. Without his measured pace, his survey would have gone awry. With numb feet, he strolled his perfect 31.5 in stride with numb fingers, he counted those strides on his rosary. He kept a surveying note where no one would think to look in a cleverly modified prayer wheel. Usually, the wheel contains a scroll with the holy incantation on it. Each turn sends the Buddhist's prayer whirling heavenward. While his companions slept, the Pundit would slip a thermometer into the camp pot. The boiling point of water would tell its altitude, a vital part of his survey.

5 months into the journey, the Pundit was beginning to worry. The caravan was approaching the town of Shigatze, where they planned to stay several months. The forbidden city was still a long way off and NanXing's funds were almost exhausted. Once in Shigatze, the resourceful Pundit managed to support himself by teaching accounting to merchants. But he also received a most unwelcome invitation to the great T monastery, home to some 3000 Buddhist priests. To refuse would lead to arouse suspicion.

But could a Hindu pretender remain undetected among so many true Buddhists?

Even worse, he would have an audience with the monastery's leader--the Panchen Lama. Second only to the Dalai Lama in power, the Panchen Lama was reputed to be able to see into the hearts of all man. NanXing would have to offer the Lama a gift of silk and respond to any 3 questions the Lama asked.

Is your king well? Does your country prosper? Are you in good health?

With amazed relief, the Pundit realized that the Panchen Lama was an 11-year-old boy who seemed to have no interest in peering into the heart of a spy, but it was a close call.

How long could a pretender in a land of monks escape detection?

In December, the caravan moved on with their Buddhist holy man in tow. The mind numbing rhythm of the Pundit's walking survey resumed, tedium, punctuated by fear.

Anyone who has walked in Tibet treked, hiked, and tried to get around Tibet on foot knows it's exhausting, I mean the altitudes are extremely high. You go up paths 16 sometimes 17 thousand feet where you are just barely able to put one foot in front of the other. The oxygen is thin. There'll be terrible splitting headache. I mean there was no roads, there was no wheels, there was no nothing. Above all was...er... risky because you might be discovered.

Several times, the nightmare of all caravans in these bad lands occured-- A violent attack by bandits. Once the Pundit was forced to escape by horseback, a desperate maneuver that would foil his plans to walk off every yard to Lhasa. He vowed to make it up by pacing the journey on his return trip.

January 10th, 1866, exactly one year since he had set out from India, the fabled city of Lhasa lay before the Pundit. He had counted over a million strides to get here, but now the most crucial and dangerous phase of his cloak-and-dagger existence had just begun. He would be living on borrowed time.

We arrived this day at Lhasa, and soon after my arrival, engaged 2 rooms, one was well adapted for taking star observations. After fixing the position of Lhasa, Xing set about fulfilling the rest of his mission, to gather as much intelligence on the political, economic and religious life of the Forbidden City as possible. Xing's rooms situated just 20 yards from the okkan, the holy central square of the city, were perfect for the task.

In the centre of the city stands a very large temple. The idols within it are richly inlaid with gold and precious stones. This temple is surrounded by bazaars and shops. On a lower hill, there is a large and strong fort called Potala, which is the residence of the Lama Guru. The Lama Guru is the chief of all Tibet but he does not interfere with state business. He is looked upon as a guardian divinity. He's supposed to never die but transmigrates into anybody he pleases. I observed there is but little order and justice to be seen in Lhasa.

In the Forbidden City, the Pundit's position was more precarious than ever. The threat of a discovery a constant dread. Once, a chance encounter with merchants from his professed homeland exposed his deceit. Somehow he managed to convince them not to turn him in. Not long after his arrival, NanXing would once again receive an invitation he could not refuse. This time, an audience with the Dalai Lama himself in the great Potala. And once again , the Pundit would find himself before a living god who could peer into the hearts of many man it was said, only to find himself gazing into the eyes of a child of 13.

But his luck could not hold for ever. And the price of a discovery was about to become terrifyingly clear. One night on the street, Xing witnessed firsthand what happened to foreigners unwelcome in Lhasa. In this case, a Chinese man who did not have permission to be in the capital.

He was brought out before the whole of people and beheaded with very little hesitation.

Owing to my alarm, I changed my residence and seldom appeared in public again.

When Xing heard that the caravan that conveyed him to Lhasa was ready to head back out of Tibet, he knew it was time to begin the 500-mile-walk-home.

October, 1866, an exhausted NanXing crosses the Himalayas once again, and descends from the rooftop of the world into his homeland in the foothills of northern India. He's been gone almost a year and a half. He's walked 2. 5 million paces on his 12. 000 miles trek, counting virtually every step of the way. He's lived undetected in the Forbbiden City of Lhasa for 3 months. He's returned to the survey of Indian D, with a treasure beyond the wildest imaginings of his mentor, Captain Montgomery.

By these really in a way quite primitive techniques, they were able to map the whole of sort of south western Tibet. What's interesting is the survey of Indian map which around today are still based on quite a lot of information which were obtained by the pundit.

Until NanXing went to Lhasa, the western world had no idea really what was, where in Tibet. They didn't even know where Lhasa was. They knew it was up there.

Years later it would be confirmed that NanXing had calculated the position of Lhasa correct to within half a degree of latitude, a remarkable feat. Montgomery while keeping the identity of the superspy to himself, detailed NanXing's amazing journey to the president of the Royal Geographical Society.

I'm quite sure he'd make a good impression anywhere. And I can quite undertand that he has been immense favored with the darkies who conveyed him into the sacred city. The Pundit I think deserves all praise. His work has stood every test capitally, captain George Montgomery.

NanXing would go on to make 2 more secret journeys into Tibet. He then helped Montgomery recruit and train other Pundits who continued filling in the blank spaces on the map of the forbidden land. Some never came back, others like NanXing himself would never be the same.

NanXing paid a really heavy cost in terms of his health. He was totally worn out. His eyesight had also been affected. I mean there was no way to protect himself from snowblindness and the glaring. He just had to retire, he couldn't undertake any more journeys.

For his extraordinary work, Xing was quietly awarded a gold medal from the Royal Geographical Society and a small pension.

He was the first native to be recognized by the Royal Geographical Society as having accomplished someting that was the equivalent to any of the greatest explorers of the west. So in a certain sense that was a real breakthrough.