Phari Explained

Phari
Other Name:Pagri
Settlement Type:Town
Pushpin Map:Tibet
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in the Tibet Autonomous Region
Coordinates:27.7182°N 89.155°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:People's Republic of China
Subdivision Type1:Autonomous region
Subdivision Type2:Prefecture-level city
Subdivision Type3:County
Subdivision Name1:Tibet Autonomous Region
Subdivision Name2:Shigatse
Subdivision Name3:Yadong
Population Total:2121
Population As Of:2004
Timezone:CST
Utc Offset:+8

Phari or Pagri (;) is a town in Yadong County[1] in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China near the border with Bhutan. The border can be accessed through a secret road/trail connecting Tsento Gewog in Bhutan (27.6989°N 89.1891°W) known as Tremo La. the town had a population of 2,121. It is one of the highest towns in the world, being about 4300m (14,100feet) above sea-level at the head of the Chumbi Valley.[2]

History

Thomas Manning, the first Englishman to reach Lhasa, visited Pagri from 21September until 5November 1811 and had this to say about his room in the town: "Dirt, dirt, grease, smoke. Misery, but good mutton."[3] [2] The Pagri Fortress (Dzong) was located here and was important for the government as it stood between Tibet and Bhutan. Pagri was a staging area en route to Gyantse and ultimately Lhasa.

Thubten Ngodup, the current Nechung Oracle, was born in Phari in 1957.

Climate

Owing to its extreme altitude, Pagri has an alpine climate (Köppen ETH) that is too cold to permit the growth of trees, even though the altitude is still marginally too low for the formation of permafrost. Example Mount Fuji in Japan, Uelen in Russia and Longyearbyen in Svalbard Norway. The winter is severe in spite of the fact that no month has daytime maxima below 0C, and also very dry and long, extending as late as May. Snowfall, however, is rare because of the dryness. Summers, during which the great majority of precipitation occurs, are cool even at their warmest and consistently damp, even though the Himalayas prevent falls from ever being heavy.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/tjbz/tjyqhdmhcxhfdm/2017/54/02/540233.html . zh:2017年统计用区划代码和城乡划分代码:亚东县 . zh. . Chinese: 统计用区划代码 名称 540233100000 下司马镇 540233101000 帕里镇 540233200000 下亚东乡 540233201000 堆纳乡 540233202000 上亚东乡 540233203000 吉汝乡 540233204000 康布乡. 2017. 2018-11-16.
  2. Phari . 21 . 346.
  3. Book: Markham, Clements. Narratives of the Mission of George Bogle to Tibet and of the Journey of Thomas Manning to Lhasa. Clements Markham. 1876. London. Trubner & Co., Ludgate Hill. 216.