Changtang

Changtang
Chinese name
Chinese羌塘
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinQiāngtáng
Wade–GilesChi'ang1-t'ang2
Alternative Chinese name
Chinese藏北高原
Literal meaningNorth Tibet plateau
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZàng Běi Gāoyuán
Wade–GilesTsang4 Pei3 Kao1-yüan4
Tibetan name
Tibetanབྱང་ཐང་།
Transcriptions
Wyliebyang thang
Tibetan PinyinQangtang

The Changtang (alternatively spelled Changthang or Qangtang) is a part of the high altitude Tibetan Plateau in western and northern Tibet extending into the southern edges of Xinjiang as well as southeastern Ladakh, India,[1] with vast highlands and giant lakes. From eastern Ladakh, the Changtang stretches approximately 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) east into Tibet as far as modern Qinghai. The Changtang is home to the Changpa, a nomadic Tibetan people.[2] The two largest settlements within the Tibetan Changtang are Rutog Town the seat of Rutog County and Domar Township the seat of Shuanghu County.[citation needed]

Changpa nomadic people in Tibet
  1. ^ Rizvi, Janet (1999). Trans-Himalayan Caravans. Oxford University Press. p. 301. ISBN 978-0-19-564855-3.
  2. ^ Namgail, T., Bhatnagar, Y.V., Mishra, C. & Bagchi, S. (2007) Pastoral nomads of the Indian Changthang: production system, land use and socioeconomic changes. Human Ecology 35, 497–504.