From the 11th century, Kashmir, part of the Ladakh and much of the northeast India were being converted to Islam. For the next 300 years, Islam spread throughout most of the Indian subcontinent. As the Muslims advanced, they sacked Buddhist temples and persecuted the development. Artists, scholars and monks fled in fear. And it was Guge that they fled to, because here they found sanctuary.

Buddhism flourished in Guge for two reasons. One was the fulfillment of the dream of the Tibetan emperors, the other was the need of the intellectual community in India to find a safe and secure home. Guge was able to cater to both. 

And with these devotees came artisans, leading to explosions of creativity. Frescoes hidden across the ancient Guge ruins offer the glimpse of these heyday times. Not unlike Medici Florence during the Renaissance, foreign artists from across the Buddhist world brought their own distinctive style of art, and here influenced each other, copying and fusing styles, ultimately creating an entirely new direction in art: the Guge school.

For me one of the most stunning things about these murals is just a sheer diversity they hold in terms of union culture. They depict peoples from all over the Buddhist world. All of the cultures within the orbit of Guge are there, in these murals. 

The dry mountain air and remoteness of this area have helped make these murals some of the best preserved in Asia. It is argued that the Guge Kingdom's commitment to Buddhism and the influx of refugee follows were such a powerful force Tibetan Buddhism may never have survived without it.