About Kham currently covers the southeastern Tibetan Plateau from the Gonggar Mountain Range on the east to the Yangtze River on the south and west. Composed of pieces of eastern Tibet Autonomous Region, western Sichuan, southeast Qinghai, and northwest Yunnan. On the north it is bordered by the Amdo Tibetans who populate the Yellow River Valley from Xining on the east to the deserts of the west. Kham is known as the region of 'four rivers and six ranges', the most fertile and culturally rich province of Tibet. The 'four rivers' refer to 1)the Nu River, which becomes the Salween River in Burma, 2) the Lancang River which becomes the Mekong through Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, 3)the Jiang River which becomes the Yangtze River and 4) the Yalong River which flows diagonally through the center of Kham from northwest to southeast where it joins the Yangtze. These rivers slice through valleys and gorges between snow capped mountains ranges, creating spectacular vistas below a striking blue sky. Some of these valleys open up into broad, treeless grasslands that are a verdant green after the rainy summer season and brown the rest of the year. By November, the weather has turned cold and, at the 10 to 15 thousand foot elevations it is the start of a brutal cold winter. Becouse of historical reasons, various sects, such as the ''Red sect'', the ''Striped sect'', the ''White Sect'', the ''Black Sect'' and ''Yellow Sect'' that eventually developed within Tibetan religion known as Bon, have coexisted here and add radiance and splendor to one another, creating a unique Buddhist spirit that can only be found in this region. Here are Gonggar Moountain called the First Peak in the Land of Abundance(Sichuan province is named the Land of Abundance). The Horse racing Hill, holy mountains Amnyemachen in Qinghai and Meili Snow Mountain in Yunnan, the world-famous Derge Monastery and its Printing House of Buddhist Scriptures. You will find the faous Tibetan monasteries and tempes like Labrang Monastery, Kumbum Monastery(Ta'er Si), Dzochen Temple, Babang Lamasery, Tagong Monastery, etc. Will make the tour a climax. Besides, the Yangtse and the Yellow River take its source. From this area. The Sichuan-Tibet Highway, the Yunnan-Tibet Highway and Qinghai-Tibet Highway, run across this region acting like endless berdges over ancient culture and modern civilization throughout the history. |
