Litang Town
Encyclopedia
Litang Town is the administrative centre of Litang County in the southwest of the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
in Sichuan
Province of China
.
The county in 2001 had a population of 47,500, the vast majority of which is ethnically Tibetan. Several famous Buddhist
figures were born here, including the Kelzang Gyatso, the 7th Dalai Lama, Tsultrim Gyatso, the 10th Dalai Lama, four of the Pabalas, and has strong connections with the epic hero Gesar of Ling, as well as the 5th Jamyang Xaiba of Labrang.
Litang Town is located at an altitude of 4,014 metres (13,169 ft) among open grasslands and surrounded by snow-capped mountains. Its actual altitude is about 400 metres higher than Lhasa
, making it one of the highest towns in the world. The town itself is centred just to the south of the Ganden Thubchen Choekhorling or Litang Chöde Monastery.
The monastery was built by Sonam Gyatso (1543–1588), the 3rd Dalai Lama in 1580 after the king of Lithang, who ruled the region as defacto independent ruler, switched allegiance from the Kagyupa to the Gelugpa, while they were still warring with each other.
During the 1950s the region around Litang was one of the main areas of Tibetan armed resistance to the PLA occupation. A resistance group called "Four Rivers, Six Ranges
" was active in the area. In 1956 the monastery was bombed by the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
There are hot springs just 4 km from the centre of town on the western outskirts.
In August, 2007, a horse-racing festival at Litang was the scene of an impromptu anti-government political speech by Runggye Adak
, which was followed by protests calling for his release including 200 people who went to the police station but were allowed to leave unharmed. A crackdown officially described as "patriotic education campaign" followed in autumn of 2007, including several politically motivated arrests and attempts to force local Tibetans to denounce the Dalai Lama.
Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture in Sichuan whose capital is Kangding . It is sometimes spelled as "Kardze" by non-government sources....
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...
Province of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
.
The county in 2001 had a population of 47,500, the vast majority of which is ethnically Tibetan. Several famous Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
figures were born here, including the Kelzang Gyatso, the 7th Dalai Lama, Tsultrim Gyatso, the 10th Dalai Lama, four of the Pabalas, and has strong connections with the epic hero Gesar of Ling, as well as the 5th Jamyang Xaiba of Labrang.
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
, making it one of the highest towns in the world. The town itself is centred just to the south of the Ganden Thubchen Choekhorling or Litang Chöde Monastery.
The monastery was built by Sonam Gyatso (1543–1588), the 3rd Dalai Lama in 1580 after the king of Lithang, who ruled the region as defacto independent ruler, switched allegiance from the Kagyupa to the Gelugpa, while they were still warring with each other.
During the 1950s the region around Litang was one of the main areas of Tibetan armed resistance to the PLA occupation. A resistance group called "Four Rivers, Six Ranges
Chushi Gangdruk
Chushi Gangdruk was an organization of Tibetan guerrilla fighters who attempted to overthrow the rule of the People's...
" was active in the area. In 1956 the monastery was bombed by the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
In August, 2007, a horse-racing festival at Litang was the scene of an impromptu anti-government political speech by Runggye Adak
Runggye Adak
Runggye Adak is a Tibetan man who was arrested and charged with state subversion against the People's Republic of China after making a series of public political statements at a festival in eastern Tibet, on August 1, 2007.Runggye Adak, said to be a respected local figure and the father of eleven,...
, which was followed by protests calling for his release including 200 people who went to the police station but were allowed to leave unharmed. A crackdown officially described as "patriotic education campaign" followed in autumn of 2007, including several politically motivated arrests and attempts to force local Tibetans to denounce the Dalai Lama.
Further reading
- Tsering Shakya: The Dragon in the Land of Snows. A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947, London 1999, ISBN 0-14-019615-3