Chengguan, Chamdo Explained

Chengguan
Settlement Type:	Town
Pushpin Map:	Tibet
Pushpin Map Caption:	Location in Tibet Autonomous Region
Subdivision Type:	Country
Subdivision Name:	China
Subdivision Type1:	Autonomous region
Subdivision Name1:	Tibet Autonomous Region
Subdivision Type2:	Prefecture
Subdivision Name2:	Qamdo
Subdivision Type3:	District
Subdivision Name3:	Karub
Area Total Km2:	195.39
Elevation M:	3256
Population As Of:	2010
Population Footnotes:	^[1]
Population Total:	45,861
Timezone:	China Standard
Utc Offset:	+08:00
Coordinates:	31.1408°N 97.1719°W

Chengguan (;) is a major town in the historical region of Kham in the eastern Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It is the seat of Karub District and Chamdo Prefecture, and had a population of 45,861 in 2010. It is located about 600km (400miles) east of Lhasa. By road, the distance is 1120km (700miles) via the southern route or 1030km (640miles) via the northern route.^[2] It is at an altitude of 3230m (10,600feet) at the confluence of the rivers Za Qu and Ngom Qu which form the Lancang River (Mekong).^[3]

At the turn of the 20th century it had a population of about 12,000, a quarter of whom were monks.^[4]

Galden Jampaling Monastery

Chengguan was visited by Je Tsongkhapa in 1373 who suggested a monastery be built there. Galden Jampaling Monastery was constructed between 1436 and 1444 by a disciple of Tsongkhapa, Jansem Sherab Zangpo.^[5] It is also known as the Changbalin or Qiangbalin Si Monastery. At its height it contained five main temples and housed some 2,500 monks.^[6] It was destroyed in 1912 but the main hall (which was used as a prison) and two other buildings survived, and it was rebuilt in 1917 after the Tibetan army retook Chengguan. It now houses about 800 monks.^{[7] [8]}

Climate

Chengguan experiences a climate that is a transition between a humid continental and subtropical highland climate (Köppen Dwb and Cwb), with warm, wet summers and very dry, frosty winters. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from NaN°C in January to 17.1°C in July, with an annual mean of 8.6°C. Due to the high elevation, the diurnal temperature variation is large throughout the year, averaging annually.

Transportation

• China National Highway 214
• China National Highway 317
• Qamdo Bangda Airport

Notable people

• Qiangba Puncog, politician

See also

• History of Tibet

Further reading

• Buckley, Michael and Straus, Robert (1986): Tibet: a travel survival kit, Lonely Planet Publications. South Yarra, Victoria, Australia. .
• Forbes, Andrew ; Henley, David (2011). China's Ancient Tea Horse Road. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. ASIN: B005DQV7Q2
• Gruschke, Andreas (2004): Chamdo town in: The Cultural Monuments of Tibet’s Outer Provinces: Kham - vol. 1. The TAR part of Kham, White Lotus Press, Bangkok 2004, pp. 36–45.
• Mayhew, Bradley and Kohn, Michael. (2005). Tibet. 6th Edition. Lonely Planet.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Chéngguān Zhèn. City Population. Thomas Brinkhoff. 20 September 2017.
2. Distances calculated acc. to "China Road Atlas, Zhongguo Gaosugonglu Ji Chengxiang Gongluwang Diutuji", Renmin Jiaotong Chunbanshe, Beijing 2006, p. 338.
3. Book: . Atlas of China . Beijing, China . SinoMaps Press . 2006 . 9787503141782.
4. Buckley and Straus 1986, p. 215.
5. Gruschke 2004, p. 36f.
6. According to tradition there were 3,000 monks with Jangsem Sherab Zangpo when establishing the monastery, and more than 2000 at the beginning of the 19th century (cp. Gruschke 2004, p. 37).
7. Buckley and Straus 1986, p. 216.
8. Mayhew and Kohn 2005, p. 241.