Gangga (or ''Tingri'' according to name of region) (; ) is a town in
Tingri County
Tingri County or ''Dhringgri County'' (; ), is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Xigazê in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.
The county comprises the upper valley of the Bum-chu or Arun River, with the valley ...
, in the south of 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 ...
. It has a population of around 523, and is often used as a base by mountain climbers preparing to ascend
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
or
Cho Oyu
__NOTOC__
Cho Oyu (Nepali: चोयु; ; ) is the sixth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu means "Turquoise Goddess" in Tibetan. The mountain is the westernmost major peak of the ''Khumbu'' sub-section of the Mahalangur ...
. It is known for its views of
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
, Mount
Lhotse
Lhotse ( ne, ल्होत्से ; , ''lho tse'', ) is the fourth highest mountain in the world at , after Mount Everest, K2, and Kangchenjunga. The main summit is on the border between Tibet Autonomous Region of China and the Khumbu ...
, Mount
Makalu
Makalu ( ne, मकालु हिमाल, Makālu himāl; zh, t=馬卡魯峰, p=Mǎkǎlǔ fēng) is the fifth highest mountain in the world at . It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas southeast of Mount Everest, in Nepal. One of th ...
, and
Cho Oyu
__NOTOC__
Cho Oyu (Nepali: चोयु; ; ) is the sixth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu means "Turquoise Goddess" in Tibetan. The mountain is the westernmost major peak of the ''Khumbu'' sub-section of the Mahalangur ...
, which comprise four of the six highest mountains in the world.
Tingri used to be an important trading post where
Sherpas
The Sherpa are one of the Tibetan ethnic groups native to the most mountainous regions of Nepal, Tingri County in the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Himalayas. The term ''sherpa'' or ''sherwa'' derives from the Sherpa language words ("east") ...
from
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
exchanged
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
,
grain
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
and
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
for Tibetan
wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool.
As ...
,
livestock
Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...
and
salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
. It gives its name to the more than -high broad upland basin that is known as the
Tingri Plain. One must cross the pass known as the Lak Pa La (el. ) to the north to reach the
Tsangpo Valley system. Shallow, fast-flowing rivers of melted snow water make its grassy meadowland ideal for grazing by Tibetan animals. The plain used to abound with gazelles,
blue sheep
The bharal (''Pseudois nayaur''), also called the blue sheep, is a caprine native to the high Himalayas. It is the only member of the genus ''Pseudois.'' It occurs in India, Bhutan, China (in Gansu, Ningxia, Sichuan, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia), ...
, antelopes and
khyang or wild asses but most of the animals are gone now. The Chinese army has a small base nearby.
Tingri Lankor (Ding ri glang 'khor) — Padampa's Residence was founded in 1097 CE by the South Indian Buddhist adept,
Padampa Sangye (died 1117) who made five visits to Tibet and was an important person in the re-establishment of the
Buddhadharma in Tibet. His consort was the Tibetan
dakini
A ḍākinī ( sa, डाकिनी; ; mn, хандарма; ; alternatively 荼枳尼, ; 荼吉尼, ; or 吒枳尼, ; Japanese: 荼枳尼 / 吒枳尼 / 荼吉尼, ''dakini'') is a type of female spirit, goddess, or demon in Hinduism and Bud ...
Machik Labdron. The ''gompa'' or temple was built in the Padampa Sange's meditation cave and became the seat of the Dampapa School of Tibetan Buddhism. It is in the process of restoration.
File:Tingri Dzong, 1993.jpg, Tingri Dzong, 1993
Riding a dzo. Tingri, Tibet Autonomous Region. 1993.jpg, Riding a dzo. Tingri, Tibet. 1993.
Tingri, 1993.jpg, Tingri town, Tibet. 1993.
Tingri town (hotel).jpg, Tingri town (hotel)
View of Hymalaya from Tingri.jpg, View of Himalaya from Tingri
Footnotes
References
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External links
{{Authority control
Populated places in Shigatse
Paleolithic sites in China
Tingri County
Township-level divisions of Tibet
Towns in China