Tanggulashan (, ), or Dangla Town, is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
in the southwest of
Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
province,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. It forms the southern
exclave
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
of the county-level city of
Golmud
Golmud, also known by various other romanizations, is a county-level city in the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province, China. It is now the second-largest city in Qinghai and the third largest in the Tibetan Pla ...
, in
, partially administrated by
Amdo County
Amdo County (; ) is a county within Nagqu of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The county covers an area of 43,410.85 square kilometres and is dominated by mainly by Tibetan grassland. In 2000 it had a population of 32,843 .
Its capital i ...
,
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a Provinces of China, province-level Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China in Southwest China. I ...
since 1963 and still officially a territory of
Yushu Prefecture, Qinghai under trust administration of Golmud, Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai. Before the local administrative reform of 2005, it was known as Tanggula Township (). It is the only place in China simultaneously under jurisdiction of three prefectures.
The town spans an area of approximately , and has a population of 1,750 as of 2020.
Toponymy
The
town's name is
Tibetan
Tibetan may mean:
* of, from, or related to Tibet
* Tibetan people, an ethnic group
* Tibetan language:
** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard
** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...
for "mountain that eagles cannot fly over".
History
On the eve of the
annexation of Tibet by China, a local rebellion broke out in nearby
Yushu, causing many members of the Duoma tribe (), a tribe of
Tibetans
The Tibetan people (; ) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million. In addition to the majority living in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans live ...
, to flee to present-day Tanggulashan.
In the early 1960s, the administrative divisions of
Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
and
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
were reorganized, and the area of Tanggulashan was placed under the jurisdiction of the
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of Qinghai.
Geography
![Txu-pclmaps-oclc-22834566 g-8d](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Txu-pclmaps-oclc-22834566_g-8d.jpg)
Tanggula Town is an administrative unit that occupies in the southwestern corner of Qinghai province. It borders on the
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a Provinces of China, province-level Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China in Southwest China. I ...
in the south and west, and on Qinghai's
Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (, , retranscribed into Tibetan as ), also transliterated as Yüxü or Yulshul, is an autonomous prefecture
Autonomous prefectures () are one type of autonomous administrative divisions of China, existing ...
in the east and north. The western "panhandle" of Yushu Prefecture separates Tanggula Town from the rest of Haixi Prefecture, making it an exclave of Golmud City and of the
.
Tanggula Town is around away (straight-line distance) both from the central city of Golmud and from the town of
Gyêgu
Gyêgu Subdistrict, formerly a part of the Gyêgu town is a township-level division in Yushu, Yushu TAP, Qinghai, China. The name Gyêgu is still a common name for the Yushu city proper, which include Gyêgu subdistrict and three other subdistr ...
, the seat of Yushu Prefecture, but it has practical road (and rail) connection only with the former.
The Tanggula settlement, also known as Marquwo, Tuotuoheyan, or Togtogquwo, is located at above sea level in the central part of
Tanggula Mountains
The Tanggula (Chinese: , p ''Tánggǔlāshān'', or , p ''Tánggǔlāshānmài''), Tangla, Tanglha, or Dangla Mountains (Tibetan: , w ''Gdang La'', z ''Dang La'') are a mountain range in the central part of the Q ...
, as the town's name indicates.
[唐古拉山镇以科学发展观为统领努力打造长江源头生态第一镇](_blank)
(Tanggula Town to follow scientific development guidelines to become the first environmentally sound town in the headwaters of the Yangtze), Golmud City Government web site, 2010-03-23 The town's area includes the
Geladaindong Peak
Geladaindong Peak (also spelled Geladandong, Geladaintong or Kolha Dardong) is a snow-covered mountain (or massif) located in Southwestern Qinghai Province of China near the border of Tibet Autonomous Region. It is the tallest mountain in the Ta ...
,
a mountain which stands at in elevation. The mountain is notable for its proximity to the source of the
Tuotuo River
The Mar Qu, Ulan Moron ( mn}, ''Ulaan Mörön'', lit. "Red River"; zh, 乌兰木伦, p=Wūlánmùlún) or Tuotuo River (, Chinese: , p ''Tuótuó Hé'', lit. "Tearful River"Powers, John & al. ''Historical Dictionary of Tibet ...
, which itself is one of the sources of the
Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...
.
The area around the peak is protected as part of the
Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve
The Sanjiangyuan (), is an area of the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai province, China which contains the headwaters of three great rivers of Asia: the Yellow, the Yangtze, and the Mekong. Parts of the area were protected as the Sanjiangyuan National ...
, which the town is located near.
The main settlement is located near the highway and railway crossing of the
Tuotuo River
The Mar Qu, Ulan Moron ( mn}, ''Ulaan Mörön'', lit. "Red River"; zh, 乌兰木伦, p=Wūlánmùlún) or Tuotuo River (, Chinese: , p ''Tuótuó Hé'', lit. "Tearful River"Powers, John & al. ''Historical Dictionary of Tibet ...
, which is one of the headwaters of the
Yangtze
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
. This settlement is served by the
Togtogquwo railway station. Other settlements in the same highway/railway corridor, further south, are Tongtian Heyan ("
Tongtian River The Zhi Qu (Tibetan) or Tongtian River () is a long river in Qinghai Province, northwest China. It begins at the confluence of Tuotuo River and Dangqu River, before flowing southeast and meeting the Jinsha River near the border of Qinghai and Sichu ...
side"),
Yanshiping,
Wenquan Wenquan () is a common name for places in the People's Republic of China:
County
*Wenquan County (温泉县), of the Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang
Towns (温泉镇)
* Wenquan, Anhui, in Yuexi County, Anhui, Yuexi County
* Wenquan ...
, and Tanggula Bingzhan ("Tanggula Military Post").
Most of the town's area is mountainous, and open
grasslands
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natural ...
cover much of the town's remaining area.
Grazing
In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...
is prohibited or highly regulated on much of Tanggulashan's grasslands.
Tanggula Town is administratively divided into 8
village-level units (seven nomads' committee and one villagers' committee).
The region is sparsely populated, with the registered population of 1,286 (year 2006) and the present population estimated at about 1,900. Most of these people live in several small villages located along the Golmud-
Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
highway and railway corridor (
China National Highway 109
China National Highway 109 connects Beijing with Lhasa. It runs westwards from Beijing via Datong, Yinchuan and Xining to Golmud before turning southwest to Lhasa. The portion of the highway from Xining to Lhasa is known as the Qinghai-Tibet Hi ...
and
Qinghai-Tibet Railway).
![SNNR Map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/SNNR_Map.jpg)
At
Tanggula Pass
The Tanggu La, Tangla Pass, or Tanggu Pass (; bo, གདང་ལ) is a wide mountain pass in Southwest China over in elevation, which utilized by both the Qinghai–Tibet Highway and Qinghai–Tibet Railway to cross the Tanggula Mountains. T ...
on the southern border of the province, the railway leaves Qinghai for Tibet, and therefore the
Tanggula railway station
The Tanggula (Dangla) railway station () is a railway station located in Amdo County, Tibet Autonomous Region, China, near the border with the Tanggula Town, Qinghai Province. The railway station has three tracks, one of them served by a platfor ...
, which is located a short distance south of the pass, is actually outside of Tanggula Town, and is already within the
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a Provinces of China, province-level Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China in Southwest China. I ...
.
Climate
Tanggulashan has a tundra climate (''ET'') with long, frigid, very dry winters and short, cool, less dry summers.
Demographics
As of 2020, Tanggulashan is home to a population of 1,750, who reside in 581 different households.
Tibetans
The Tibetan people (; ) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million. In addition to the majority living in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans live ...
who live in Tanggulashan largely hail from the Duoma tribe (), one of the eight Tibetan tribes in the
Amdo
Amdo ( am˥˥.to˥˥ ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being U-Tsang in the west and Kham in the east. Ngari (including former Guge kingdom) in the north-west was incorporated into Ü-Tsang. Amdo is also the bi ...
region.
According to a 2021 publication by the
Golmud
Golmud, also known by various other romanizations, is a county-level city in the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province, China. It is now the second-largest city in Qinghai and the third largest in the Tibetan Pla ...
city government, 247 people in Tanggulashan are members of the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
.
Economy
The traditional occupation of the local residents is the raising and breeding of livestock. Specific breeds of
sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...
and
yak
The domestic yak (''Bos grunniens''), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox or hairy cattle, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau, Kachin Sta ...
, such as the Tanggula yak () and the Tibetan sheep (), have received
geographical indication
A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, ...
from the
Ministry of Agriculture of China.
As of 2020, the average annual income for a herder in Tanggulashan totaled 29,020
renminbi
The renminbi (; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China and one of the world's most traded currencies, ranking as the fifth most traded currency in the world as of April 2022. ...
(RMB).
According to the local authorities in
Golmud
Golmud, also known by various other romanizations, is a county-level city in the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province, China. It is now the second-largest city in Qinghai and the third largest in the Tibetan Pla ...
,
overgrazing
Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...
is a concern in the area,
[ as it is throughout the southwestern Qinghai. As a result, grazing is restricted and limited in certain areas,] and projects are underway to reduce the livestock population in Tanggulashan to what is thought to be the "scientifically sound" target of 53,600.[格尔木唐古拉山镇:转变发展方式打造生态第一镇]
(Tanggula Town, Golmud: Changing the modes of development, to create the first environmentally sound town). Golmud City Government web site, 2010-03-29
Besides overgrazing by livestock, the local pasture land also suffers depredation by rats. After some attempts to poison them (with obvious side effects), in 2009 the local authorities started a campaign to attract birds of prey to the area, hoping that they would help to keep the rat population under control. For this purpose, 830 bird perches were erected in the affected areas.
In 2007, it was reported that a factory producing traditional Tibetan carpets opened in the area, employing about 80 people.[Sophia Zhang,]
. 2007-07-16
Transportation
The town is connected to the Qinghai-Tibet railway, and the Tanggula railway station
The Tanggula (Dangla) railway station () is a railway station located in Amdo County, Tibet Autonomous Region, China, near the border with the Tanggula Town, Qinghai Province. The railway station has three tracks, one of them served by a platfor ...
serves as the last stop before entering Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
.
References
{{Reflist
Populated places in Qinghai
Township-level divisions of Qinghai
Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture