Burang Town


Burang , known as Purang in Tibetan, is a town which serves as the administrative center of Burang County, Ngari Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region , China. The town lies at 4,755 metres altitude in the valley of the Sarayu Karnali River. As of 2010, the town has a population of 6,047. To the south are Gurla Mandhata 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 of Burang.

Etymology

The Tibetan name of the town is a corruption of the Zhang-zhung words pu hrang, meaning 'horse head'. Nepalese and Indians call the town Taklakot.
Saryu Karnali River's Peacock Mouth source is glaciers on the northern slopes of the Himalaya NW of Burang. The Lion Mouth source of the Indus is east of Mount Kailash and the Elephant Mouth is the source of the Sutlej. Lake Manasarovar is just 2 km from few of the Sarayu heads, and has an ephemeral connection to Rakshastal. The Horse Mouth source of the Yarlung Tsanpo is about 90 km. SE of Lake Manasarovar.

History and religion

Burang is an ancient trading post. It is said to be the place where Sudhana, a previous incarnation of the Buddha, lived.
On a cliff above the town was the large ancient fort of Tegla Kar and Simbiling Monastery. Beneath them is the Tsegu Gompa or the "Nine-Storey Monastery" which was probably originally a Bön establishment. Tsegu covers many terraces and may be reached by ladders, and contains many unique and ancient wall-painting, darkened from centuries of smoke.
It seems that the Tegla kar 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 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.
Burang is the gateway town for travel to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar to the north. These are important destinations for Bon, Buddhist, Hindu, Jain and even New Age pilgrims. Traditional cosmology designates Mount Kailash the center of the universe. Great religious merit is attributed to parikrama around the mountain, and to bathing in Lake Manasarovar.

Administrative divisions

The town is divided into six village-level divisions: Jirang Neighborhood Committee, Duoyou Village, Rengong Village, Xide Village, Kejia Village, and Chide Village. The town's government is seated in the Jirang Neighborhood Committee.

Transport

Road

National Road S207 begins in Burang, heading NE past Lake Rakshastal and Manasarovar to China National Highway 219.

Border crossings

Burang is near the borders with India and Nepal. A road leads some down the Karnali River to the border crossing at the village of Xie'erwa into Hilsa in Nepal where a historic trail and now a rough motor road continuing to Simikot. There is also a border crossing into India over Lipulekh Pass.

Geography and climate

Burang has a cold arid climate, with long, cold winters and mild summers. The normal monthly mean temperature ranges from in January to in July, and the annual mean is. Annual precipitation is only around.