Gar Günsa (), Günsa () or Kunsa, ( zh, s=昆沙乡 , t=昆沙鄉 , p=Kūnshā Xiāng) is a township consisting of three administrative villages in
Gar County
Gar County (; zh, s=噶尔县), formerly Senge Tsangpo County, is a district (county) in the Ngari Prefecture of the western Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The main town is Shiquanhe (Sênggêkanbab), also called "Gar", on account of being th ...
in the
Ngari Prefecture
Ngari Prefecture () or Ali Prefecture ( zh, s=阿里地区 , t=阿里地區 , p=Ālǐ Dìqū) is a prefecture of China's Tibet Autonomous Region covering Western Tibet, whose traditional name is Ngari Khorsum. Its administrative centre and large ...
of the
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), often shortened to Tibet in English or Xizang in Pinyin, Hanyu Pinyin, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China. It was established in 1965 to replace the ...
of China, viz.,
Sogmai () and
Gar Chongsar () and
Namru ()
The modern
Ngari Gunsa Airport
Ali Kunsha Airport, also called Ngari Günsa Airport, , also known as Shiquanhe Airport is a dual-use military and civil airport serving the town of Shiquanhe in Ngari Prefecture, between Gar Chongsar and Sogmai, Günsa Township, Ngari Prefec ...
is within the township.
Gar Günsa is situated on the bank of the
Gartang River, one of the headwaters of the Indus River, at the base of the
Kailash Range
Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; ; ; , ) is a mountain in Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It lies in the Kailash Range (Gangdisê Mountains) of the Transhimalaya, in the western part of ...
, at an elevation of .
Gar Günsa, along with its sister encampment
Gar Yarsa used to be the administrative headquarters for Western Tibet (
Ngari). The headquarters was moved to
Shiquanhe
Shiquanhe (), known in Tibetan as Sênggêkanbab () or Sênggêzangbo, is the main town (China), town and administrative seat of Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Shiquanhe is located on the bank of Sênggê Zangbo, the river sour ...
in 1965.
Name

Gar () means "encampment". During the 15th and 16th centuries, the
Karma Kagyu
Karma Kagyu (), or Kamtsang Kagyu (), is a widely practiced and probably the second-largest lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, M ...
lamas moved through the length and breadth of Tibet in "Great Encampments" or ''garchen''.
The term is also used often for military camps.
[
]
Gar Günsa means the "winter camp".
The ninth century bilingual text ''
Mahāvyutpatti
The ''Mahāvyutpatti'' (Devanagari: महाव्युत्पत्ति, compound of महत् (in compounds often महा) - great, big, and व्युत्पत्ति f. - science, formation of words, etymology; Wylie: Bye-bra ...
'' translated ''günsa'' as Sanskrit (), literally, the residence of the winter season.
Even though Gar Yarsa has acquired the name "Gartok" in popular parlance, officially, "Gartok" consisted of both Gar Günsa and
Gar Yarsa (the "summer camp"). The latter is forty miles upstream on
Gartang at a higher altitude.
[: "Gartok in reality consists of two distinct places situated forty miles apart. The one we visited is known as Gar Yarsa or Summer Quarters, and the other, which is also on the Indus but at a lower altitude, Gar Gunsa or Winter Quarters."
]
History
Tibetan administration
Gar Günsa, along with its sister encampment
Gar Yarsa, was referred to as Gartok, and served as Lhasa's administrative headquarters for Western Tibet (
Ngari) after it was
conquered from Ladakh in 1684. A senior official called
Garpön was stationed here.
[
]
The Garpöns lived in Gar Gunsa for nine months in the year, and stayed at Gar Yarsa during August–October.
But in the British nomenclature, the name "Gartok" was applied only to Gar Yarsa and the practice continues till date.
Chinese administration
After the
Chinese annexation of Tibet, Gar Günsa continued to function as the headquarters of Western Tibet till 1965, after which it was moved to
Shiquanhe
Shiquanhe (), known in Tibetan as Sênggêkanbab () or Sênggêzangbo, is the main town (China), town and administrative seat of Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Shiquanhe is located on the bank of Sênggê Zangbo, the river sour ...
. It was felt that the living conditions in Gar Günsa were extremely difficult.
[ (This book uses SASM/GNC/SRC transcriptions)]
See also
*
List of towns and villages in Tibet
An alphabetical list of populated places, including cities, towns, and villages, in the Tibet Autonomous Region of western China.
A
*Alamdo
*Alhar
*Arza
*Asog
B
*Baga, Tibet, Baga
*Bagar
*Baidi, Nagarzê County, Baidi
*Baima
*Baimai
*Bai ...
References
*
Bibliography
*
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External links
Günsa Township OpenStreetMap, retrieved 21 July 2021.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunsa
Populated places in Ngari Prefecture
Gar County