Exploring the Origins of Tibetan Civilization in Central Tibet_ Tangra Yumco 探访当惹雍措圣湖、象雄王朝、西藏文明起源
6 Video Views·Apr 2, 2025
I drove deeper into central Tibet, where lake after lake appeared and grasslands stretched endlessly. The Tibetan Plateau is home to thousands of lakes, the largest of which spans over a thousand square kilometers. Today, I visited Tibet's fourth largest lake: Tangra Yumco, which covers an area of 836 square kilometers. You might find it hard to believe that as early as the 5th century AD, the ancestors of Tibet established a powerful empire here with its own written language, spoken language, and religious beliefs—the XiangXiong Dynasty（象雄王朝）. The dynasty's rule covered almost the entire western region of Tibet, covering millions of square kilometers, with tribes separated by vast uninhabited areas.
This is how they lit fire. It's like a lighter.
Look at her earrings. So beautiful.
I'm so happy to see you.
The elevation here is 4530m which is one of the highest counties in the world.
I'm very certain that people here in this highest place live their lives so peaceful and joyful.
And this is an amazing place to explore more how locals adapt to this harsh climate condition.
And in my opinion when you travel to Tibet...
Mostly you travel to popular places like Potala Palace, Mount Everest or Namtsu Lake.
And if you want to experience those supernatural isolation lakes and wildlifes that are well preserved
we can take you to another route which is called the Chains of Lake, Northern Tibet, No Man's Land.
And right now I'm here at Nyingma County and later I'm going to go all the way here to Umpu village
to visit this amazing large lake which is called Thangrayumso and nearby here there's
also a mountain which is called Tako mountain and it is regarded as the ancient kingdom
settlement base of northern Tibet. After looking at this map my travel plan for today looks amazing
so let's go and start our wonderful day from Nyingma County. I don't know because of
thin air or because of this dry air my eyes pains a lot. We call it Garuda and it symbolizes
religion but it is a mysterious animal similar to dragon that we Tibetan believe that once we
also have this kind of animal at Himalaya region. Let's go and find a place to eat the breakfast
and a beautiful kind lady she invited me in her home to enjoy the breakfast. And she is really
generous she provides the best facilities to make me feel satisfaction. She has already prepared
heated chimney as she used up her annual year collected sheep dung. She got two rooms and one
for living and one for storeroom. Even though it's a small but she has a very comfortable and warm house.
Wow that's a lot a lot of butter and lots of Sampa.
And she added me some sugar as well and now I made it Sampa dough.
And she also got this cute wood made bowl or cup.
It's a Tibetan carpet.
This is how they lit fire. It's like a lighter.
Look at her earrings so beautiful.
I really liked her so much you know. She is so kind and thank you so much for her hospitality.
I really enjoyed it so much. At the present this county is developing with so many new
constructions like roads hotels community. So I think in future this county is going to be very
active county in northern Tibet. And during daytime the temperature is about one to two degree.
But they told me that at night time it's going to be below minus 10 to 15 degrees.
Looks like I'm here at this most active road in Yima county. And the life conveniences
are much better than Shuanghu county which I visited yesterday. And of Yima county this name
which means sun in Tibetan. And the people here their heart is like sun. They are giving us so
much warmth. Very friendly and very interesting people. And for me Yima county is more like a
station for the truck drivers. There are lots and lots of trucks crossing through this county.
Ah looks like that's the local market. And let's see if I can find something.
Look at this interesting shoes. It is cold so they must need this kind of woolly shoes.
This is the local product.
I've never seen such a ginseng like that.
Oh
This is the typical dress of Yima county.
And those five color literally represent five elements.
I thought it's a dried carrot but it's actually a dried turnip. But it's really sweet.
And this is the main product from this county. And I just knew that because not to kill more
animals people here they are preferring to use more like fake lamp wool to dress.
It's time for me to leave this beautiful county and go ahead to Wombu village which is 100
kilometer from here. And I can't wait to show you those beautiful places at Wombu village.
And today I feel a little different with my vision. And my eyes are paining and itching a lot.
So when you are driving you definitely need a sunglass even if you're not driving.
If you come to Tibet please bring a sunglass because the sun here is really strong.
And if you are driving on this road even though it's a paved road but still there are so many
holes and cracks. So please keep your eyes open for 24 hours while you are driving.
And Changtang protection zone is considered as the largest in all over China. And the second rank
is Kekesili which is northeast from here. And many people think that Kekesili is largest
protection zone in all over China which is not true. Because once you come here then you will
find out which is larger. And do you know that the antelope is literally considered as the first
class a national wildlife protection in China. And after the protections the number of the growth
explain the name of this lake Tangra is an ancient name which means lake and Yu means in turquoise.
And if you combine it it means turquoise lake. And we Tibetans also believe that this lake
is also considered as the first civilization in Tibet. This lake is one of the three holy lakes
in Tibet. And there are three Jungco in Tibet which are Mapam Jungco, Yamdrug Jungco and this
is Tangra Jungco. And the elevation of this lake is 4540 meter. It's mysterious that Tangra lake
is frozen and melted in one day in the last month of February and the beginning of March
by lunar calendar. And believers can predict many auspicious sign from this lake. Locals believe
that if the lake does not turn icy at that time then there comes bad fortune in this coming new
year. From this lake locals can also see spiritual features of auspicious sign every year. So that's
why it is believed to be the holiest lake in all over Tibet. And this lake is 250 meter depth.
And this lake is also the first holy lake of Buddhism. Oh my god the wind near the lake
shore is very strong that make my hair very untidy. That's all about this amazing lake. And now we are
heading to Wombu village. Every house here is the lake view that you can see. And I can't believe
that in this highest freezing village with the elevation of 4700 meter people still can do
cultivation. It's all because of due to the lake adaption. The air here is humid in this highest
plateau and the land is pasture for cultivation. And life here is much more suitable that people,
herds and plants are perfect growth. So this village is the most wonderful and most different
from any northern Changdan place that I've seen and experienced personally. And I also want you
guys to come here to visit those beautiful places and visit those ancient heritage by yourself.
And from every lane in the village has a sightseeing of this beautiful lake.
Their houses are like that.
At 4700 meter they still have a tree.
And most of the houses here are two floors and made up of stones or mud.
And from next year I'm definitely going to make a new travel route for you guys
to visit no man's land, wildlife, beautiful lakes, people, villages and ancient heritage of northern
Tibet. That's a very beautiful village. And now it's a perfect time for me to find a guest house
here in this village. This is where I'm going to stay tonight. And look at this guest house.
It looks so colorful and beautiful like monastery.
Look at the size of this family guest house. In this remote area with the elevation of 4600 meter
we still can find such a beautiful and tidy guest house like that. I'm impressed. And they also have
this oxygen cylinder in case someone need it. Let's go to the second floor and check out how
Thangrayumtsu looks like. Oh my god. Wow. I told you the view is much better from the second floor.
This is my room for tonight with a very typical Tibetan decoration. And I got two comfortable bed
and this is my bathroom.
I got a sitting toilet and a shower which doesn't look that useful. And for each bed I have to pay
80 yuan. That means I have to pay 160 for this room. But there are still other options. The cheaper
one which is dormitory. And there are like five six bed in one room. I got this e-mattress in
case of freezing in the night. And I hope it works. Aha. It is working. That's all about today's video.
Thank you so much for watching. I'm very grateful for your concern, praying and wishes. Please stay
tuned and see you in my next episode. This is Jamyang. Welcome to Tibet. I'm the one who can show
you the real Tibet. Bye-bye.