Chamdo Attractions
Chamdo Town Galden Jampaling Monastery Ranwu Lake Zezhol Monastery
Chamdo is located at the convergence of Tibetan area and Han residential district, adjacent to Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan. Hengduan Mountains zigzags through this region and the three parallel rivers (Jinsha, Lancang and Nujiang) converge here. Lofty mountains and grand rivers endow it with unique landscape.
The average altitude of the region is above 3,500 meters(about 11,483 feet) and many peaks are above the snow line. In addition to the snow peaks, roaring rivers and deep valleys, Laigu Glacier is also an inevitable attraction to admire the grandeur of Chamdo. It can be found in the central land of Boshula Mountain area within Baxoi (Basu) County arround Gulai Village. Because of different geological condition, glacier lakes formed in front of the village appear different color. Near the glacier is the beautiful Ranwu Lake. Walking along the path along the lake, the unsophisticated Laigu Village can be seen in the end. This is a Tibetan community. Visitors can taste authentic butter tea and dried beef made by the local people.
Kang Area (Kang Qu) is a geographical concept in Chinese referring to the region in Hengduan Mountains and the Three Parallel Rivers areas (including Chamdo in Tibet, Garze in Sichuan, Yushu Prefecture in Qinghai and Diqing Prefecture in Yunnan) where the local Tibetans there speak Kang-ba dialect. Chamdo has profound Kang-ba culture deposit that can be reflected on the costumes and characters of the local people.
Located in the high mesa of Chamdo Town, the headquarter of Chamdo Region, Galden Jampaling Monastery (Chambaling Monastery) is an important Tibetan Buddhist temple of Gelugpa Sect that was first built in 1444. This art treasury holds countless Buddha sculptures, murals and Thangka paintings that dazzle the beholders. The monastery is the largest in Kang Area. Religious dances peculiar to Jampaling has its uniqueness in Tibetan Opera. On the mountainside opposite the Chamdo Town, visitors can catch the most beautiful view of the monastery embraced by two rivers and row upon row of monks' houses as well as Tibetan style residences around. To learn Bon religion of the region, Zezhol Monastery will tell more than plain words can convey.
About 12 kilometers(about 7.5 miles) southeast of Chamdo Town, there is the only Neolithic ruins among Tibet's cultural preservation centers, Caro Relics. Caro means castle in Tibetan. Rich excavations are found in the ruin, which brought Caro the fame as one of the three primitive cultural relics in Tibet.
In this region, there is the only Catholic church of Tibet, Yanjing Catholic Church in Markham (Mangkang) County. Historically, the noted Tea and Horse Ancient Road pass through Chamdo, leaving everlasting mystery. Anyway, spectacular natural landscape and rich cultural deposit together make the irresistible charm of Chamdo.