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Purang[3][4] or Burang (Tibetan: སྤུ་ཧྲེང་གྲོང་བརྡལ, Wylie: spu hreng grong rdal, THL: pu hreng drong del,[5]Chinese:普兰镇), also known as Taklakot, is a town which serves as the administrative center of Purang County, Ngari Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), China.[6] The town lies at an altitude of 3,900m (12,800ft) in the valley of the Karnali River.[7] The town spans an area of 3,257.81 square kilometres (1,257.85sqmi),[1] and has a permanent population 6,047 as of 2010,[2] and a hukou population of 4,477 as of 2018.[1] To the south are Gurla Mandhata (Mount Namonanyi) and the Abi Gamin ranges. Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash are to the north. This region is the mythological and actual river nexus of the Himalaya with sources of the Indus, Ganges and Yarlung Tsangpo/Brahmaputra all within 110 kilometres (70mi) of Purang.
Etymology
The Tibetan name of the town (spu hreng) is a corruption of the Zhang-zhung words pu hrang, meaning 'horse head'.[citation needed] Nepalese and Indians call the town Taklakot from Tibetan 'Takla Khar' (Tibetan: སྟག་ལ་མཁར།, Wylie: stag la mkhar, THL: Takla Khar).[citation needed]Takla Khar means Tiger Hill Castle, which is the name of a historic Zhang-zhung fortress in the county.[8]
Saryu Karnali River's Peacock Mouth[9] source is glaciers on the northern slopes of the Himalaya 50 kilometres (30mi) NW of Purang. The Lion Mouth source of the Indus is 20 kilometres (12mi) east of Mount Kailash and the Elephant Mouth is the source of the Sutlej. Lake Manasarovar is just 2km from few of the Sarayu heads, and has an ephemeral connection to Rakshastal. The Horse Mouth source of the Yarlung Tsanpo (Brahmaputra) is about 90km. (55mi.) SE of Lake Manasarovar.
History and religion
Purang is an ancient trading post. Indian and Nepali communities residing in the mountainous parts of India and Nepal bordering the Purang county have for many generations conducted trade with Tibetan communities at Purang. But the conditions under which this trade presently happens are significantly different from those prevailing before the mid-twentieth century.[10] The government of Nepal issues special border area passes to its citizens who are bona-fide residents of the border district of Humla, which enables them to seek seasonal work in Purang.[11]
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 TseguGompa or the "Nine-Storey Monastery" which was probably originally a Bön establishment.[12] Tsegu covers many terraces and may be reached by ladders, and contains many unique and ancient wall-painting, darkened from centuries of smoke.[13] It seems that the Tegla kar (Lying Tiger fort) was built during the Zhangzhung dynasty which was conquered by the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo in the early 7th century CE. It became the main fort of the Purang Kingdom, in the 10th century under King Kori, one of the two sons of Tashi Gon, King of the Guge Kingdom. The Purang kingdom is believed to have ended in the 15th century. In addition, Purang is said to be the place where Sudhana, a previous incarnation of the Buddha, lived.[14]
Purang has a cold arid climate (KöppenBWk), with long, cold winters and mild summers. The normal monthly mean temperature ranges from −7.6°C (18.3°F) in January to 14.4°C (57.9°F) in July, and the annual mean is 3.64°C (38.6°F). Annual precipitation is only around 150mm (5.9in).
Climate data for Burang, 3,900m (12,795ft) amsl (1981−2010 normals)
↑SHANTI (Sciences, Humanities and Arts Network of Technological Initiatives). "Takla Khar". SHANTI Place Dictionary. University of Virginia. Retrieved 18 February 2022. Takla Khar is a fortress and monastic complex in Kyitang township, Purang county. According to the Bon tradition, a fortress was founded on the hilltop site in the prehistoric Zhang Zhung period.
↑.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. ISBN0-85692-173-4.
↑Bubriski, Kevin; Pandey, Abhimanyu (2018). Kailash Yatra: a Long Walk to Mt Kailash through Humla. New Delhi: Penguin Random House. p.107.
↑Allen, Charles. (1999) The Search for Shangri-La: A Journey into Tibetan History, p. 55. Little, Brown and Company. Reprint: 2000 Abacus Books, London. ISBN0-349-11142-1.
↑Tibet Handbook, p. 351. (1999). Edited by Sarah Thorowgood. Passport Books, Chicago. ISBN0-8442-2190-2.
↑Tibet Handbook, p. 350. (1999). Edited by Sarah Thorowgood. Passport Books, Chicago. ISBN0-8442-2190-2.
↑Burang Town, National Bureau of Statistics, 2022.
