religiously linked to the Kumbum Jampa Ling Monastery. "The Taktser incarnation line was initiated when Yeshe Kelzang was recognized as the reincarnation of Lobzang Dorje, an abbot of the tantric college at Kumbum Monastery, who was then posthumously known as the First Taktser, The name of the incarnation line stems from the town of Taktser in Amdo where the Lobzang Dorje was born. The seat of this incarnation line is at Kumbum. The Fifth Taktser, Lobzang Tsultrim Jigme Gyatso was a contemporary of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, and together they worked to improve the administration of Kumbum. The Sixth Taktser, Tubten Jigme Norbu, was the brother of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. He died in 2008 in Indiana..." A notable citizen, "Lobzang Dorje (blo bzang rdo rje) was born in Chikyā Taktse (chi kyA stag mtsher) Village near Kumbum Jampa Ling (sku 'bum byams pa gling) Monastery some time in the seventeenth century. He was educated at Kumbum Monastery, where he served first as the eighth abbot of the Tantric College (rgyud pa grwa tshang), and then, in 1691, as the seventeenth throne holder of the monastery, a post he held for five years. During his tenure, in 1692, the Tsenkhang (btsan khang), the temple dedicated to propitiating the tsen (btsan) spirit, was constructed..." In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, Qing empire troops destroyed the Taktser village. "Manchu troops burned down every house in Taktser village, driving the entire population to seek refuge in caves in the surrounding hills. The Manchu's attempts to smoke them out with burning chili were unsuccessful..." In 1935, the village, then under the control of Hui Chinese (Muslim) warlord Ma Bufang of the Republic of China (Ma clique), consisted of 17 households, 15 of which were Tibetan. In 1985, there were 40 families and in 2002 the figure rose to 50. In 2009, the village numbered 256 inhabitants (45 families). Over 70 percent of the 45 families have a television set and a land-line telephone. The village also features 10 mobile phones, 16 motorbikes, and one automobile, but is still isolated from the Internet. Birthplace of the 14th Dalai Lama The village of Taktser gained fame as the birthplace of the 14th Dalai Lama in 1935. It also saw the birth of his elder brother, Thubten Jigme Norbu, who was acknowledged by the 13th Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the great lama Taktser