| Yangbajain | |
|---|---|
| Tibetan transcription(s) | |
| • Tibetan | ཡངས་པ་ཅན། |
| • Wylie transliteration | yangs pa can |
| • pronunciation in IPA | [jaŋpatɕɛ̃] |
| • official transcription (PRC) | Yangbajain |
| • THDL | Yangpachen |
| • other transcriptions | Yangpachän |
| Chinese transcription(s) | |
| • Traditional | 羊八井 |
| • Simplified | 羊八井 |
| • Pinyin | Yángbājǐng |
| Yangpachen Valley | |
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Yangbajain
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | China |
| Region | Tibet |
| Prefecture | Lhasa Prefecture |
| County | Damxung County |
| Population | |
| • Major Nationalities | Tibetan |
| • Regional dialect | Tibetan language |
| Time zone | +8 |
Yangbajain (also spelled Yangbajing) is a town approximately 87 kilometers (54 mi) north-west of Lhasa, halfway to Damxung in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The town lies just south of the Nyainqêntanglha Mountains, in an upland lush green valley surrounded by the tents of nomads with grazing yak and sheep populating the hillside. It is the site Yangpachen Monastery, which was historically the seat of the Shamarpas of Karma Kagyü and the Yangbajing International Cosmic Ray Observatory.
The area is famous for the Yangbajain hot springs, which have been harnessed to produce much of the electricity for the capital Lhasa. There is a thermoelectric power plant on the edge of the Yangbajain hot springs field covering 20–30 square kilometers.[1] The thermoelectric power plant was established in 1977, and the first development of geothermal power not only in Tibet but in the whole of China.
The Yangbajain hot springs field is at an altitude of 4290–4500 m[2] which makes it the highest altitude set of hot springs in China, and possibly the world.[3] The highest temperature inside the drilling hole is 125.5°C[4].
The Holy Medical Spring Resort has both two indoor swimming pools and one outdoor swimming pool, all filled with hot springs water[4]. It allows to bath at an altitude of 4200 m AMSL, making it likely to be the highest swimming pool of the world.
The YBJ International Cosmic Ray Observatory (羊八井国际宇宙线观测站) is located in the Yangbajing valley of the Tibetan highland, a site chosen for its high altitude at 4300 meters above sea level.[5] Collaborating institutes includes the INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare) and various Chinese and Japanese universities.[6] [7] The KOSMA 3-m submillimeter telescope is being relocated to a nearby site.