Langmusi Town (; ) is a small alpine town on the eastern edge of the

Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the ...

, nestled in a valley shared between Gansu and

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

provinces in China and straddled by two large monastery complexes. Administratively, the town is part of

Luqu County Luqu County (, ) is a county of the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the south of Gansu province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the southeast and Qinghai to the west. Its postal code is 717200, and in 1999 its population was ...

Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Gānnán Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (; ) is an autonomous prefecture in southern Gansu Province, China, bordering Linxia to the north, Dingxi to the northeast, Longnan to the east and Aba (Sichuan province) to the south . It includes Xiahe a ...

in Gansu, although a small portion of the town in the south is actually located in

Zoigê County Ruoergai County or Zoigê County (; ) is a county of Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan, China, bordering Gansu to the north. It is the northernmost county of the province. It is part of the Tibetan traditional region of Amdo ...

Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, also known as Aba (; Qiang: ; ), is an autonomous prefecture of northwestern Sichuan, bordering Gansu to the north and northeast and Qinghai to the northwest. Its seat is in Barkam, and it has an ar ...

, Sichuan. The town is commonly visited by tourists making the overland trip between Sichuan and Gansu. Inhabitants of the town are primarily Tibetan.

History

The town emerged around the

Tibetan Buddhist Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

temple, Langmu Temple () which was founded in 1748. At the time, Langmusi was located in the southern portion of 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 ...

region of historical

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, Taman ...

during Qing occupation.

Geography

Langmusi is located at the headwaters of the

Bailong River The Bailong River () is a river 576km long river in the Yangtze River basin. From its source to confluence with the Jialing River, the Bailong is actually longer and is thus the main stem of the Jialing River system. The scenic Jiuzhaigou reserve ...

which eventually flows into 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 ...

at Chongqing. To the east of Langmusi are the

Min Mountains Min Mountains or Minshan () are a mountain range in central China. It runs in the general north-south direction through northern Sichuan (the eastern part of the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture and adjacent areas of Mianyang Prefec ...

which form the easternmost edge of the Tibetan Plateau. West of Langmusi are the

Xiqing Mountains Xiqing District () is a district in Tianjin, People's Republic of China. History The current Xiqing area came into existence in the mid and late Tang dynasty. In Northern Song (Song dynasty) period, this area was the border of Song and Liao (Liao ...

. The mountains directly south of Langmusi form the divide between the Yangtze and

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...

basins. Beyond these mountains are the expansive Zoigê Wetlands which drain into the Yellow River.

Tourism

Langmusi is a popular destination for domestic tourists and is accessible via Highway 213 which passes 3 km to the north of the town. The nearest airport is Gannan Xiahe Airport, 125 km north. In the southern (Sichuan) portion of the town is the Kirti Monastery. The northern (Gansu) portion of the town is dominated by the Sertri Monastery. Both monasteries are popular with tourists but only the Kirti Monastery charges an admission fee. South of the Kirti Monastery is Namo Gorge and its caves which are common destinations for hiking. In the surrounding countryside, multi-day horseback riding trips are available to tourists that may overnight with Tibetan nomads.

References

{{reflist Township-level divisions of Gansu