Khimey is the 18th-century ancestral residence of the Khimey noble family. It is two storeys high, built from stone and mudbricks, and a number of fine architectural details are preserved within. After 1959, the house was converted into public housing. Later, the northern half of the building was given back to the five heirs of the Khimey family. In early 1998, both halves were in similar state of dilapidation, and parts of the roof had already caved in.
Khimey south elevation early 1998
Despite its prominent location on Lingkor South Road, near the Anni Tsangkung, the house had been scheduled for demolition in early 1998. Mr. Khimey and his sisters would have received five flats of equal size to the rooms they owned in the old house, and the new construction would have been four stories high. The Khimey family lobbied heavily to save their ancestral home from the fate of the neighbouring Kapde house (rebuilt in 1997 as housing block).
Finally it was pointed out by Mr. Khimey that a wooden beam in one of the rooms had especially been painted by the personal doctor of the 7th Dalai Lama in the early 18th century. Even though these works of art had been painted over during the Cultural Revolution, an attempt to bring them back to light revealed a painted medicine Buddha. This was reason enough for the Cultural Authorities to place the house under protection, even before it was placed on the list of 93 protected houses.
