Mustang, a district in Nepal on the border with the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, was formerly a Tibetan monarchy in the Himalayas. Between Mustang and Tibet, there was continuous trade as well as social and religious interaction up until the Chinese troops blocked the border in 1962. Mustang lost its connection to its Tibetan source when the border was closed, however, Mustang under the state of Nepal was spared from the atrocities committed against Tibet during the Chinese Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976. While much was destroyed in Tibet, the art and architecture of the Buddhist temples in Mustang survived.