Langmusi Town (; ) is a small alpine town on the eastern edge of the

Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or Qingzang Plateau, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central Asia, Central, South Asia, South, and East Asia. Geographically, it is located to the north of H ...

, nestled in a valley shared between

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

and

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

provinces in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and straddled by two large monastery complexes. Administratively, the town is part of

Luqu County Luqu County ( zh, s=碌曲县, ) is a county of the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the south of Gansu province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the southeast and Qinghai to the west. Its postal code is 717200, and in 1999 it ...

Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture ( zh, c=甘南藏族自治州, p=Gānnán Zàngzú Zìzhìzhōu; ) is an autonomous prefecture in southern Gansu Province, China, bordering Linxia to the north, Dingxi to the northeast, Longnan to the east ...

in Gansu, although a small portion of the town in the south is actually located in

Zoigê County Zoigê County or Ruo'ergai County (; zh, s=若尔盖县 , p=Ruò'ěrgài Xiàn) is a county of Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan, China, bordering Gansu to the north. It is the northernmost county of the province. It is pa ...

Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, also known as Aba (; Qiang language, Qiang: ; zh, s=阿坝藏族羌族自治州, t=阿壩藏族羌族自治州), is an autonomous prefecture of northwestern Sichuan, bordering Gansu to the north and ...

, Sichuan. The town is commonly visited by tourists making the overland trip between Sichuan and Gansu. Inhabitants of the town are primarily

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

History

The town emerged around the

Tibetan Buddhist Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Darjeeling, Sikkim, and Arunachal Prades ...

temple, Langmu Temple () which was founded in 1748. At the time, Langmusi was located in the southern portion of the

Amdo Amdo ( �am˥˥.to˥˥ zh , c = 安多 , p = Ānduō ), also known as Domey (), is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions. It encompasses a large area from the Machu (Yellow River) to the Drichu (Yangtze). Amdo is mostly coterminous wi ...

region of historical

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

during Qing Dynasty rule.

Geography

Langmusi is located at the headwaters of the

Bailong River The Bailong River () or Khuchu, Drukchu () is a 576km-long river in the Yangtze River basin. From its source to confluence with the Jialing River, the Bailong is actually longer and is thus the main stem of the Jialing River system. The scenic Jiu ...

which eventually flows into the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

. To the east of Langmusi are the

Min Mountains Min Mountains or Minshan () are a mountain range in central China. It runs in the general north-south direction through northern Sichuan (the eastern part of the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture and adjacent areas of Mianyang Prefec ...

which form the easternmost edge of the Tibetan Plateau. West of Langmusi are the

Xiqing Mountains Xiqing District () is a district in Tianjin, People's Republic of China. History The current Xiqing area came into existence in the mid and late Tang dynasty. In Northern Song (Song dynasty) period, this area was the border of Song and Liao ( Lia ...

. The mountains directly south of Langmusi form the divide between the Yangtze and

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

basins. Beyond these mountains are the expansive Zoigê Wetlands which drain into the Yellow River.

Tourism

Langmusi is a popular destination for domestic tourists and is accessible via Highway 213 which passes 3 km to the north of the town. The nearest airport is

Gannan Xiahe Airport Gannan Xiahe Airport is an airport in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province, China. It is located above Amuquhu Town (Amqog) in Xiahe County, from the county seat and from Hezuo, the capital of Gannan Prefecture. Construction ...

, 125 km north. In the southern (Sichuan) portion of the town is the Kirti Monastery. The northern (Gansu) portion of the town is dominated by the Sertri Monastery. Both monasteries are popular with tourists but only the Kirti Monastery charges an admission fee. South of the Kirti Monastery is Namo Gorge and its caves which are common destinations for hiking. In the surrounding countryside, multi-day horseback riding trips are available to tourists that may overnight with Tibetan nomads.

References

{{reflist Township-level divisions of Gansu