Country China District Karub Area 195.4 km² | Prefecture Qamdo Elevation 3,256 m Local time Saturday 1:19 PM | |
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Autonomous region Tibet Autonomous Region Time zone China Standard (UTC+08:00) Weather 8°C, Wind W at 13 km/h, 36% Humidity Points of interest Kawagarbo, Rakwa Tso, Galden Jampaling Monastery, Meili Snow Mountain, Riwoche Monastery | ||
Chengguan (simplified Chinese: 城关镇; traditional Chinese: 城關鎮; pinyin: Chéngguān Zhèn) synonymous referred to as Chamdo or Qamdo, population in 1999 about 86,280, is a major town in the historical region of Kham in the eastern Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The seat of Karub District and Chamdo, it is Tibet's third largest city after Lhasa and Shigatse. It is located about 600 km (370 mi) (as the crow flies) from Lhasa. On the road the distance covers 1,120 km (700 mi) (southern route) or 1,030 km (640 mi) (northern route). It is at an altitude of 3,230 m (10,600 ft) at the confluence of the rivers Za Qu and Ngom Qu which form the Mekong.
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Map of Qamdo, Tibet, China
At the turn of the 20th century it had a population of about 12,000, a quarter of whom were monks.
Galden Jampaling Monastery
Chengguan was visited by Je Tsongkhapa in 1373 who suggested a monastery be built there. Galden Jampaling Monastery was constructed between 1436 and 1444 by a disciple of Tsongkhapa, Jansem Sherab Zangpo. It is also known as the Changbalin or Qiangbalin Si Monastery. At its height it contained five main temples and housed some 2,500 monks. It was destroyed in 1912 but the main hall (which was used as a prison) and two other buildings survived, and it was rebuilt in 1917 after the Tibetan army retook Chengguan. It now houses about 800 monks.
Climate
Chengguan experiences a climate that is a transition between a humid continental and subtropical highland climate (Köppen Dwb and Cwb), with warm, wet summers and very dry, frosty winters. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −1.2 °C (29.8 °F) in January to 17.1 °C (62.8 °F) in July, with an annual mean of 8.60 °C (47.5 °F). Due to the high elevation, the diurnal temperature variation is large throughout the year, averaging 16.0 °C (28.8 °F) annually.