Burang Town

Infobox Settlement
name = Burang
other_name =
native_name =
translit_lang1= Tibetan
translit_lang1_type=Tibetan
translit_lang1_info=སྤུ་ཧྲེང་རྫོང་
translit_lang1_type1=Wylie transliteration
translit_lang1_info1= spu hreng rdzong
translit_lang1_type2=pronunciation in IPA
translit_lang1_info2=puʂeŋ
translit_lang1_type3=official transcription (PRC)
translit_lang1_info3=Burang
translit_lang1_type4=THDL
translit_lang1_info4=
translit_lang1_type5=other transcriptions
translit_lang1_info5=Purang
translit_lang1_type6=
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translit_lang2=Chinese
translit_lang2_type=Traditional
translit_lang2_info=普蘭鎮
translit_lang2_type1=Simplified
translit_lang2_info1=普兰镇
translit_lang2_type2=Pinyin
translit_lang2_info2=Pǔlán Zhèn
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settlement_type = Town
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pushpin_label_position =
pushpin_map_caption =Location within Tibet
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = China
subdivision_type1 = Region
subdivision_name1 = Tibet
subdivision_type2 = Prefecture
subdivision_name2 = Ngari Prefecture
subdivision_type3 = County
subdivision_name3 = Burang County
subdivision_type4 = Nearby settlements (distance)
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population_blank1_title =Major Nationalities
population_blank1 =Tibetan
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population_blank2_title =Regional dialect
population_blank2 =Tibetan language
timezone = +8
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latd= 30|latm= 15|lats= |latNS=N
longd= 81|longm= 10|longs= |longEW=E
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 4755
elevation_ft = 13,205
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Burang is the main town in Burang County in Ngari Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It is situated to the south of Mount Kailash, near the borders with India and Nepal. The town lies at an altitude of 4755 metres (13,205feet). It is known by Nepalis and Indians as Taklakot (from Tibetan 'Takla Khar'), and is a very ancient trading post and staging point for pilgrims to Mount Kailash. It lies in the valley of the Karnali River or the "Mapchchu Khambab" - the 'Peacock Mouth River' or 'River Formed from the Mouth of a Peacock'. [.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. ISBN 0-85692-173-4.] between Mount Namonanyi and the Abi Gamin ranges.

Burang is said to be the place where Sudhana, a previous incarnation of the Buddha, lived. ["Tibet Handbook", p. 350. (1999). Edited by Sarah Thorowgood. Passport Books, Chicago. ISBN 0-8442-2190-2.]

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 Tsegu Gompa or the "Nine-Storey Monastery" which was probably originally a Bön establishment. [Allen, Charles. (1999) "The Search for Shangri-La: A Journey into Tibetan History", p. 55. Little, Brown and Company. Reprint: 2000 Abacus Books, London. ISBN 0-349-111421.] Tsegu covers many terraces and may be reached by ladders, and contains many unique and ancient wall-painting, darkened from centuries of smoke. ["Tibet Handbook", p. 351. (1999). Edited by Sarah Thorowgood. Passport Books, Chicago. ISBN 0-8442-2190-2.]

It seems that the Tegla kar (Lying Tiger fort) was built during the Zhang Zhung dynasty which was conquered by the Tibetan king Songsten 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.

References

External links

* [http://www.kailashzone.org/pages/ngari/purang.html Purang: a region joining Tibet, Nepal, and India] "(Kailashzone Charitable Foundation)"
* [http://fallingrain.com/world/CH/14/Burang.html Burang] "(Fallingrain.com)"