Chengguan is a major town in the historical region of Kham in the eastern Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It is the seat of Karub District and Chamdo Prefecture, and had a population of 45,861 in 2010. It is located about 600 km east of Lhasa. By road, the distance is 1120 km via the southern route or 1030 km via the northern route. It is at an altitude of 3230 m at the confluence of the rivers Za Qu and Ngom Qu which form the Lancang River (Mekong). At the turn of the 20th century it had a population of about 12,000, a quarter of whom were monks.

Galden Jampaling Monastery

Chengguan was visited by Je 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. 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. 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 Chengguan. It now houses about 800 monks.

Climate

Chengguan experiences a climate that is a transition between a humid continental and subtropical highland climate (Köppen Dwb and Cwb), with warm, wet summers and very dry, frosty winters. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −1.2 °C in January to 17.1 °C in July, with an annual mean of 8.60 °C. Due to the high elevation, the diurnal temperature variation is large throughout the year, averaging 16.0 C-change annually.

Transportation

Notable people