Travel Alone the Ancient Tea Horse Path--Changdu
(CRI)
Updated: 2005-08-22 14:06

"Chamdo" and "the Khamba people and their culture"...

An Important Pass in Eastern Tibet

In Tibetan, Changdu means the place where the rivers meet. The Zhaqu and Angqu Rivers join here, creating the headstream of the Lancang Jiang River. It used to be an important pass in Eastern Tibet. After Songtsan Gampo unified Tibet in the 7th century, Changdu belonged to the Tufan Tibetan regime in ancient China. During the Qing Dynasty, the county of Changdu was renamed Chamdo (many Western maps and guide books still use this name).

With a complicated geomorphologic structure, different topographies, climate types and horticultural environments, the average annual sunshine is 2,100-2,700 hours, and the non-frost period ranges from 46 to 162 days. There are four seasons on the mountain and the weather differs in its 5000-meters area. Historical records in Tibetan show that there are 25 holy mountains in the Kham area, most of which are located in Changdu.

Changdu is an important pass along the Tea Horse Path. It's also a gateway to Tibet. Traders from Sichuan, Yunnan and Qinghai often pass through here on their way to conduct business in Tibet. Nowadays, the transportation in Changdu is more convenient. Visitors can take a bus from Lhasa or Chengdu. It takes about 5 days to get here. Visitors can see some culturally important scenic spots and get a feel for the mystique of Tibetan Buddhism.

Drinking Tea in Changdu

The tea served in Changdu shows the influence of Tibetan customs. Most locals here drink the concoction. Visitors can enjoy genuine Tibetan-style buttered tea. The tealeaves are native to Tibet. Tibetan buttered tea is prepared by mixing butter and salt with the juice from fully boiled fermented tealeaves. Before serving, the mixture has to be further blended using a special device. More often than not, a slim wooden cylinder is used for the blending. After the mixture is put in the cylinder, a piston is used to churn the ingredients inside the cylinder. With the passing of the mixture through the slit between the piston and the cylinder, the mixture of butter, salt and tea is forcefully and thoroughly blended. Tibetans like to serve buttered tea in small or large thermos bottles, as the tea is much better when served hot.

The Khamba People and Their Culture

The Khamba area is located in the east of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. It's where locals speak the Khamba dialect. As the hinterland of Khamba culture, there are many distinctive and beautiful cultural scenic spots in Changdu.

There is a famous proverb among Tibetans: if a Khamba person can speak, then he can sing well; if he can walk on both feet, then he can dance well too. Due to their bold and unconstrained character, the Khamba dance style is different from the other Tibetans. Their most popular folk dance is known as the "Guozhuang Dance". It is a popular folk dance among Tibetans. Hand-in-hand, arm-in-arm, one side for men and the other for women, dancers sing to the beat of their pounding feet.

Their dress and personal adornments are very beautiful and distinctive, very elegant and poised. They use some expensive gold pieces and jewelry, such as agates, emeralds, and coral, to adorn themselves. Past down from generation to generation, these clothes and personal adornments have become very valuable, becoming a Khamba symbol of wealth.

Monasteries in Changdu

The Tibetans call themselves Bod-pa, which means "people living in the Bod region. ?°It is believed that the name Bod is derived from the name Bon, an animist religion popular with many Tibetans prior to the advent of Buddhism in the region. Followers of the Bon faith held that everything in the world has a soul. Monks held various kinds of sacrificial activities. In the 7th century when Buddhism spread to Tibet, it collided head on with the Bon religion. The Bon religion, formerly very primitive, finally grew in terms of its theory and organization.

The Garma Monastery is 120 km away from Changdu, standing on the upper reaches of the Zhaqu River. Going to the monastery one has to pass through a place called Let. Legend has it that on the slope of Let there was a Bon monastery that housed a Bon master who ordered his attendant monks to guard the road and let no outsider pass. One day, a hungry dog came and the monk on guard let it pass, as it was an animal. The master panicked on hearing the news and left the monastery shortly thereafter. The hungry dog was an incarnation of Master Garmaba Duisum Qenba, who had built the Garma Monastery. This episode signifies the creation of the Garma Gagyu Sect of Tibetan Buddhism in this part of the world.

Statistics show in 1991 there were 55 monasteries in Chamdo Prefecture, including 31 in Dengqen, nine in Zogan, six in Gyamda, five in Lholung, three in Baxoi and one in Changdu Town. There is a 17-meter high Buddha Maitreya Statue which is the largest clay sculptured Buddha statue.

Qiangbalin Monastery is similar to other major Tibetan Buddhist Monasteries, with well-preserved statues, frescos and Tangkas. It is the largest one among those of the Gelugpa￡?the Yellow Sect of Tibetan Buddhism in the Khamba Area. The main Buddha here is Qiangba Buddha. The monastery is famous for its religious dance ceremony called Guqing which is performed every Tibetan New Year. Dancers perform in splendid costumes with gruesome masks, all movements in harmony. Such religious dances are famous though out the whole Tibetan plateau.

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