This article refers to the town of Chamdo. For other uses, see Qamdo.

Chamdo
—  Town  —
Tibetan transcription(s)
- Tibetan	ཆབ་མདོ་
- Wylie	chab-mdo
Chinese transcription(s)
- Chinese	昌都
- Pinyin	Chāngdū
Chamdo Location in Tibet
Coordinates: 31°10′N 97°14′E / 31.167°N 97.233°E / 31.167; 97.233
Country	China
Region	Tibet Autonomous Region
Prefecture	Qamdo
County	Qamdo County
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)

Chamdo (Tibetan: ཆབ་མདོ་; Wylie: chab-mdo; officially: Qamdo; Chinese: 昌都; Pinyin: Chāngdū), population about 86.280 (1999)^[1]is a major town in the historical region of Kham in the eastern Tibet Autonomous Region. The capital of Qamdo County and the Qamdo Prefecture, it is Tibet's third largest city after Lhasa and Shigatse.^[2] It is located about 480 km (as the crow flies) from Lhasa, on the road the distance covers 1120 km (southern route) or 1030 km (northern route).^[3] It is at an altitude of 3,230 metres (10,600 ft).

At the turn of the 20th century it had a population of about 12,000, a quarter of whom were monks.^[2] Chamdo, and the region around, it is the centre for the fierce Khampa tribesmen.

Contents 1 Galden Jampaling Monastery 2 Invasion of Chamdo in 1950 3 Transportation 4 Footnotes 5 Further reading 6 See also

[edit] Galden Jampaling Monastery

Chamdo was visited by Tsongkhapa in 1373 who suggested a monastery be built there. Galden Jampaling Monastery was constructed between 1436 and 1444 by a disciple of Tsongkhapa, Jansem Sherab Zangpo.^[4] It is also known as the Changbalin or Qiangbalin Si Monastery. At its height it contained five main temples and housed some 2,500 monks.^[5] It was destroyed in 1912 but the main hall (which was used as a prison) and two other buildings survived, and it was rebuilt in 1917 after the Tibetan army retook Chamdo. It now houses about 800 monks.^[6][7]

[edit] Invasion of Chamdo in 1950

The invasion of Chamdo by the 40,000 man army of the People's Republic of China on October 19, 1950 served as an important precursor to the eventual signing of peaceful liberation treaty between Chinese central government and Lhasa government in the following year.^[8] Chamdo's governor at the time of the occupation was Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, who later became an official in the government of the People's Republic of China. The previous governor of Chamdo was Lhalu Tsewang Dorje.

[edit] Transportation

• China National Highway 214
• China National Highway 317

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] Further reading

• Buckley, Michael and Straus, Robert (1986): Tibet: a travel survival kit, Lonely Planet Publications. South Yarra, Victoria, Australia. ISBN 0-908086-88-1.
• Gruschke, Andreas (2004): Chamdo town in: The Cultural Monuments of Tibet’s Outer Provinces: Kham - vol. 1. The TAR part of Kham, White Lotus Press, Bangkok 2004, pp. 36–45. ISBN 974-4800-49-6
• Mayhew, Bradley and Kohn, Michael. (2005). Tibet. 6th Edition. Lonely Planet. ISBN 1-74059-523-8

[edit] See also

• History of Tibet

v • d • e Qamdo Prefecture, Tibet County-level divisions Qamdo · Jomdo · Gonjo · Riwoqê · Dêngqên · Zhag'yab · Baxoi · Zogang · Markam · Lhorong · Banbar Towns and villages Baima · Baimai · Banbar · Banggaidoi · Bangru · Bolo · Bumgyê · Cêngdo · Chamdo · Chamoling · Changlung · Chido · Chongsar · Dungro · Gamtog · Garma · Gyari · Gyorxung · Gyanbe · Kargang · Lhorong · Lingza · Medogdeng · Nagjog · Ngomdo · Nujiang · Qumdo · Qu'nyido · Sumzom · Tanggar · Xabyai · Zhaxize

Coordinates: 31°10′N 97°14′E / 31.167°N 97.233°E / 31.167; 97.233