Burang Town
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| Burang | |
| — Town — | |
| Tibetan transliteration(s) | |
| - Tibetan | སྤུ་ཧྲེང་རྫོང་ |
|---|---|
| - Wylie transliteration | spu hreng rdzong |
| - pronunciation in IPA | puʂeŋ |
| - official transcription (PRC) | Burang |
| - THDL | |
| - other transcriptions | Purang |
| Chinese transliteration(s) | |
| - Traditional | 普蘭鎮 |
| - Simplified | 普兰镇 |
| - Pinyin | Pǔlán Zhèn |
  Burang
|
|
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | China |
| Region | Tibet |
| Prefecture | Ngari Prefecture |
| County | Burang County |
| Nearby settlements (distance) | |
| Elevation | 4,755 m (13,205 ft) |
| Population | |
| - Total | |
| - Major Nationalities | Tibetan |
| - Regional dialect | Tibetan language |
| Time zone | +8 (UTC) |
Burang is the main town in Burang County in Ngari Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It is situated to the south of Mount Kailash, near the borders with India and Nepal. The town lies at an altitude of 4755 metres (13,205feet). It is known by Nepalis and Indians as Taklakot (from Tibetan 'Takla Khar'), and is a very ancient trading post and staging point for pilgrims to Mount Kailash. It lies in the valley of the Karnali River or the Mapchchu Khambab - the 'Peacock Mouth River' or 'River Formed from the Mouth of a Peacock'.[1] between Mount Namonanyi and the Abi Gamin ranges.
Burang is said to be the place where Sudhana, a previous incarnation of the Buddha, lived.[2]
On a cliff above the town was the large ancient fort of Tegla Kar (Lying Tiger Fort) and Simbiling Monastery (both totally destroyed in 1967 by Chinese artillery during the Cultural Revolution, but the monastery has since been partially restored). Beneath them is the Tsegu Gompa or the "Nine-Storey Monastery" which was probably originally a Bön establishment.[3] Tsegu covers many terraces and may be reached by ladders, and contains many unique and ancient wall-painting, darkened from centuries of smoke.[4]
It seems that the Tegla kar (Lying Tiger fort) was built during the Zhang Zhung dynasty which was conquered by the Tibetan king Songsten Gampo in the early 7th century CE. It became the main fort of the Burang Kingdom, in the 10th century under King Kori, one of the two sons of Tashi Gon, King of the Guge Kingdom. The Burang kingdom is believed to have ended in the 15th century.
[edit] References
- ^ .Snelling, John. (1990). The Sacred Mountain: The Complete Guide to Tibet's Mount Kailas. 1st edition 1983. Revised and enlarged edition, including: Kailas-Manasarovar Travellers' Guide. Forwards by H.H. the Dalai Lama of Tibet and Christmas Humphreys, pp. 74, photo on p. 238. East-West Publications, London and The Hague. ISBN 0-85692-173-4.
- ^ Tibet Handbook, p. 350. (1999). Edited by Sarah Thorowgood. Passport Books, Chicago. ISBN 0-8442-2190-2.
- ^ Allen, Charles. (1999) The Search for Shangri-La: A Journey into Tibetan History, p. 55. Little, Brown and Company. Reprint: 2000 Abacus Books, London. ISBN 0-349-111421.
- ^ Tibet Handbook, p. 351. (1999). Edited by Sarah Thorowgood. Passport Books, Chicago. ISBN 0-8442-2190-2.
[edit] External links
- Purang: a region joining Tibet, Nepal, and India (Kailashzone Charitable Foundation)
- Burang (Fallingrain.com)
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