Darchen

Darchen 塔钦 Lhara
Tibetan transcription(s)
- Tibetan
Chinese transcription(s)
- Traditional	塔欽
- Simplified	塔钦
- Pinyin	tǎqīn
Darchen
Darchen Location within Tibet
Coordinates: 30°58′35″N 81°17′13″E / 30.97639°N 81.28694°E / 30.97639; 81.28694Coordinates: 30°58′35″N 81°17′13″E / 30.97639°N 81.28694°E / 30.97639; 81.28694
Country	China
Region	Tibet
Prefecture	Ngari Prefecture
County	Burang County
Nearby settlements (distance)
Population
- Total
- Major Nationalities	Tibetan
- Regional dialect	Tibetan language
Time zone	+8

Darchen,Tarchan or Taqin (simplified Chinese: 塔钦; traditional Chinese: 塔欽; pinyin: tǎqīn) is a small village in Purang County of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It was previously known as Lhara and still signposted as such. It was previously an important sheep station for nomads and their flocks and had only two permanent buildings; only one of which survived the Cultural Revolution and is now used to house Tibetan pilgrims.^[1]

Darchen is situated right in front of the sacred mountain, Mount Kailash. Its altitude is 4,575 metres (15,010 ft) and is the starting point for pilgrimages in the region.^[2][3]

It is only a one day bus drive (about 330 km) from the town of Shiquanhe or (Ali) to the northeast, where Gunsa Airport, which opened 1 July 2010, is located offering flights twice a week to Lhasa and Chengdu.^[4][5]

It contains a couple of restaurants and the Ganges guesthouse and restaurant, the Zhusu guesthouse next door, and the Gandise Hotel where Public Security Bureau PSB officers are stationed from spring until October, and where pilgrims must get their travel permit stamped, and buy a "ticket" if they wish to circumambulate Mt. Kailash. There are also a few houses, the Swiss-funded Tibetan Medicial and Astro Institute and dispensary where doctors are trained in Tibetan medicine, a number of stores and kiosks, and some camping grounds. Traditionally, pilgrims only eat vegetarian food in the region due to its proximity to the sacred Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash.^[1][3][6]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Dorje (2009), p. 412.
2. ^ Albinia (2008), p. 307.
3. ^ ^{a b} Kotan Publishing (2004), p. 141.
4. ^ Mayhew and Kohn (2005), p. 209.
5. ^ "Tibet's fourth civil airport opens."
6. ^ Mahew and Kohn (2005), pp. 210.

References

• Albinia, Alice. (2008) Empires of the Indus: The Story of a River. First American Edition (2010) W. W. Norton & Company, New York. ISBN 978-0393-33860-7.
• Dorje, Gyurme. (2009) Tibet Handbook. Footprint Handbooks, Bath, England. ISBN 978-1-906908-32-2.
• Kotan Publishing (200) Mapping the Tibetan World. Reprint 2004. ISBN 0-9701716-09.
• Mayhew, Bradley and Kohn, Michael. (2005) Tibet. 6th Edition. ISBN 1-74059-523-8.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Tibet