Historical and anecdotal accounts of the "a kya kha pa" courtyard complexes, which were established in Dar-rtse-mdo (now Kangding County, Sichuan Province; a.k.a. Tachienlu) in the Sino-Tibetan borderland area of Kham (Tib. Khams) and functioned over the centuries in succession as offering temples, stations in the tea-horse trade, administrative offices, etc.; written by Gong Boxun (b. 1935), a Chinese writer who resided in the area for many years during the mid-twentieth century. Also describes local customs.