Himalayan Towers
Encyclopedia
The Himalayan Towers also called Stone star-shaped towers, are a series of stone towers located mostly in Kham
Kham
Kham , is a historical region covering a land area largely divided between present-day Tibetan Autonomous Region and Sichuan province, with smaller portions located within Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan provinces of China. During the Republic of China's rule over mainland China , most of the region was...

, an ancient province of Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

, in Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...

 and in Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

. The towers are located in regions of Changthang
Changthang
The Changtang is a high altitude plateau in western and northern Tibet extending into southeastern Ladakh, with vast highlands and giant lakes. From Eastern Ladakh Changtang stretches approximately 1600 km east into Tibet, as far as the state of Qinghai. All of it is geographically part of...

, Gyalrong, Miniak and Kongpo
Kongpo
Kongpo is a Tibetan Autonomous Region in the Nyingchi Prefecture. It is situated on the river Yarlung Zangbo in the area of the Nyang River , a northern tributary river of the Yarlung Zangbo....

. The towers can be found both in cities and in uninhabited regions. They have been described for the first time during the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

 (1368-1644). Carbon dating by Frederique Darragon shows they were built approximately 500 to 1,800 years ago. Since they are generally located in prosperous villages, it is believed that their primary function was as a demonstration of a family's prestige within the community. At that time, wealth was acquired especially by the trade with the Mongols
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...

. For strength, many of the towers use a star pattern of walls as opposed to a strictly rectangular method. Heights can exceed 60m. For more information see the work of Frederique Darragon
Frederique Darragon
Frederique Darragon is a French explorer known for her documentary film The Secret Towers of the Himalayas, which chronicled her expedition to the mystifying stone towers of Sichuan and Tibet. She wrote a book also titled The Secret Towers of the Himalayas. She is founder and president of the...

, who has extensively studied the towers and written a book titled The Secret Towers of the Himalayas. She also filmed and co-produced a documentary also called "Secret Towers of the Himalayas".

External links

  • http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/303/5666/1972a
  • http://www.stonefoundation.org/stonexus/snx7issue/startowers.pdf
  • http://www.journal.acs-cam.org.uk/data/archive/200902.htm –
  • http://www.newsweek.com/id/60649
  • http://www.naic.org.cn/newcontent.asp?id=699 –
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