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30-600: Gar Günsa is situated on the bank of the Gartang River , one of the headwaters of the Indus River, at the base of the Kailash Range , at an elevation of 4,270 metres (14,010 ft). Gar Günsa, along with its sister encampment Gar Yarsa used to be the administrative headquarters for Western Tibet ( Ngari ). The headquarters was moved to Shiquanhe in 1965. Gar ( Wylie : sGar ) means "encampment". During

60-661: A centuries-old trading relationship. Instead, the "customary route" via Demchok and Tashigang was the only one allowed. Sometime around this, China also appears to have changed course regarding the road from Xinjiang to Western Tibet, and chosen a route from Karghilik passing through the Karakash Valley and the Indian-claimed Aksai Chin region. The Indian trade agent was told by Chinese officials in September 1955 that they were constructing

90-626: A distance of 130 kilometres (81 mi), the Gartang joins Sengge Zangbo (Shiquan He), which originates on the northern slopes of Mount Kailas and flows in a wide arc towards the Gar Valley. The point of confluence is near the town of Tashigang (Zhaxigang). After the confluence, the combined river, regarded as the Indus River , flows in the same direction as Gartang. For this reason, western explorers have traditionally regarded Gartang as

120-403: A few dozen people in winter quarters, their houses being in the midst of a bare plain. They spent only one day at Gartok and found it deserted at that time of the year. The British Empire elected to appoint a native Indian trade agent at Gartok, the first being Thakur Jai Chand. Jai Chand found the conditions harsh, living in "extreme isolation and discomfort" in a three-room mud hut, along with

150-464: A medical assistant and a clerk. Having no authority and access to the region's leaders, Jai Chand was able to achieve little. The medical dispensary was however said to have been utilised to some extent. By 1907, it was clear that Gartok trade agency was a "dead end", but the British continued to maintain it in order to assert their treaty rights. Scholar Alex McKay remarks that Purang would have been

180-467: A year, during which Gartok became a busy centre of commerce. No less than 500 nomads and merchants would congregate there at any given time. The village also has a small temple referred to as "Gar Yarsa gompa". The rise of Gartok as the seat of Lhasa's authority in western Tibet occurred after the Tibet–Ladakh–Mughal War (1681–1684). Prior to this, the Gar Valley was part of Guge , which

210-452: Is also often used for military camps. British sources interpreted "Gar Yarsa" as the "summer camp". However, the ninth century bilingual text Mahāvyutpatti translated yarsa as Sanskrit वार्षिकावासः ( vārṣikāvāsaḥ ), literally, the residence of the rainy season. Even though Gar Yarsa has acquired the name "Gartok" in popular parlance, officially, "Gartok" consists of both Gar Yarsa and Gar Gunsa (the "winter camp"). The latter

240-712: Is at Shiquanhe in the Sênggê Zangbo valley, close to the point of confluence of the two rivers. The sources of Gartang are on the southwestern slopes of the Kailas Range (Gangdise Shan). From there, the river flows northwest in the Gar Valley , the tectonic valley between the Kailas Range and the Ladakh Range . The slope of the valley is extremely gentle, only about 2 metres per kilometre. After

270-501: Is forty miles downstream on Gartang at a lower altitude. The Lhasan administrators of Western Tibet based at Gartok were called Garpöns . They lived in Gar Gunsa for nine months of the year, and stayed at Gar Yarsa August–October. Gar Yarsa lies on the road between Ladakh and Shigatse , northeast of the present day Indian state of Himachal Pradesh , with all of which it has had trade relations. William Moorcroft regarded

300-539: Is made of twin encampment settlements of Gar Günsa and Gar Yarsa ( Tibetan : སྒར་དབྱར་ས , Wylie : sGar-dbyar-sa , Wade–Giles : Ka-erh-ya-sha ) in the Gar County in the Ngari Prefecture of Tibet. Gar Gunsa served as the winter encampment and Gar Yarsa as the summer encampment. But in British nomenclature, the name Gartok was applied only to Gar Yarsa and the practice continues to date. Gartok

330-725: The Anglo-Nepalese War , W. J. Webb , the East Indian Company's surveyor of Kumaon and Garhwal, also made efforts to enter Tibet for the purpose of surveying. He earned the trust of the Tibetan officials and was permitted limited entry, beyond which the officials said permission would be needed from Lhasa and Peking. Following the Younghusband Expedition to Tibet, the Convention of Lhasa

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360-408: The Indus River . The combined river flows in the same valley and in the same direction as Gar Tsangpo. Thus by physical geography, Gar Tsangpo is the "Indus River". The Tibetans however regard Sênggê Zangbo as the main Indus River, and treat Gar Tsangpo as a tributary. Gartok , the former administrative headquarters of Ngari is in the Gar Valley. The present headquarters, under PRC administration,

390-485: The 15th and 16th centuries, the Karma Kagyu lamas moved through the length and breadth of Tibet in "Great Encampments" or garchen . The term is also used often for military camps. Gar Günsa means the "winter camp". The ninth century bilingual text Mahāvyutpatti translated günsa as Sanskrit हैमन्तिकावासः ( haimantikāvāsaḥ ), literally, the residence of the winter season. Even though Gar Yarsa has acquired

420-547: The Gar Valley as part of Changtang , whose main occupation was the production of pashmina wool. By all accounts, Gar Yarsa appears to have been a small village. Moorcroft wrote that it was little more than an encampment, with a number of blanket tents and a few houses built of sun-dried bricks. Ladakhi envoy Abdul Wahid Radhu stated that nomad tents outnumbered solid houses. British explorer Cecil Rawling stated that Gartok had only "three good sized houses and twelve miserable hovels". The Garpons resided there for three months

450-538: The Gartang and Sengge Zangbo , with the locations Langmar and Rala mentioned in the sources. After the end of the war, Galdan Chhewang organised the administration of the new province Ngari, and appointed Lozang Péma ( Wylie : blo bzang pad ma ) as governor ( gzim dpon ) before returning to Lhasa. The Tibetan government appointed prefects ( rdzoṅ sdod ) to the traditional districts of Purang , Tsaparang and Tashigang . But eventually Tashigang lost its importance, and Gartok took its place. Lhasa-appointed governors for

480-647: The administrative headquarters of Ngari (West Tibet) during the Ganden Phodrang administration of Tibet. The Lhasa-appointed administrator, called Garpön, used to stay at Gar Yarsa during the summemr months, and at Gar Gunsa during the winter. After the Chinese annexation of Tibet in 1950, the headquarters of Ngari was moved to a new town of Shiquanhe on the Sengge Zangbo river. Gar Yarsa Gartok ( Tibetan : སྒར་ཐོག , Wylie : sGar-thog )

510-593: The force travelled via the Keriya Pass to Gartok via a tedious route, arriving there in June 1951. Chinese accounts seem to corroborate this information. In October 1951, the Chinese started to explore the possibility of opening a road route between Xinjiang and Rudok (through Keriya La). In late 1952, the 2nd Cavalry Regiment based at Gartok garrisoned Rudok with 150 men and 800 camels. The Indian trade agent at Gartok

540-455: The main source of the Indus River. However, the Tibetans regard Sengge Zangbo as the main Indus River and the Gartang as its tributary. The Gartang river drains an area of 6,060 km2. Two well-known villages cum encampments, Gar Yarsa and Gar Gunsa , lie along the course of the Gartang, separated by 40 miles (64 km). The two locations together have been called "Gartok" and served as

570-439: The name "Gartok" in popular parlance, officially, "Gartok" consisted of both Gar Günsa and Gar Yarsa (the "summer camp"). The latter is forty miles upstream on Gartang at a higher altitude. Gar Günsa, along with its sister encampment Gar Yarsa , was referred to as Gartok , and served as Lhasa's administrative headquarters for Western Tibet ( Ngari ) after it was conquered from Ladakh in 1684. A senior official called Garpön

600-581: The right place for a trade agency, being the trading and administrative centre. However, Gartok was chosen due to lack of knowledge at the time of the Younghusband expedition. In 1950, as the People's Republic of China sent forces to Lhasa in order to annex Tibet, it also sent a small force from Khotan in Xinjiang to Western Tibet, taking its people by surprise. According to Indian intelligence,

630-544: The sale of pashmina wool was limited to Ladakhis, as per the Treaty of Tingmosgang of 1684. Some wool did make it to Bashahr , which was an ally of Tibet during the Tibet–Ladakh–Mughal War, as well as Zanskar (along with its territories of Lahul and Spiti ), which was part of the family of west Tibetan kingdoms. The British tried to exploit these connections later for acquiring pashmina wool. In 1817, after

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660-602: The whole of Ngari, called Garpons, took their seat at Gartok. Commercially, Gartok had the advantage of being equidistant between the Changthang , whose shepherds brought pashmina wool for sale, and their buyers in Ladakh and Bashahr . William Moorcroft was the first British official to set foot in western Tibet. He arrived in Daba in 1812, along with another adventurer Hearshey, disguised as an Indian gosain merchant. He

690-646: Was denied permission to visit trade marts at Rudok. By 1953, the Chinese had a motorable jeep track between Xinjiang and Rudok. In 1954, the Indian government and the Chinese government negotiated a new trade agreement, whereby India continued to maintain the three trade agencies, and China obtained the reciprocal right to operate trade agencies in India (which were in Delhi , Calcutta and Kalimpong ). China declined to allow trade between Ladakh and Rudok, bringing to an end

720-456: Was either independent or under the control of Ladakh . In 1630, Ladakh had annexed the entire kingdom of Guge, including the Gar Valley. Through the war, Central Tibet, based in Lhasa, challenged Ladakh's supremacy. During the war, the large army of Galdan Chhewang , Tibet's general, is said to have encamped in the Gar Valley. The first clash with Ladakhi forces took place near the confluence of

750-400: Was established as Lhasa's administrative headquarters for Western Tibet ( Ngari ) after it conquered it from Ladakh in 1684. A senior official called Garpön was stationed here. Gartok (Gar Yarsa) also served as Western Tibet's principal trade-market. But the village itself was small and is said to have been quite poor. After the Chinese annexation of Tibet , the headquarters of Western Tibet

780-489: Was felt that the living conditions in Gar Günsa were extremely difficult. Gartang River Gar Tsangpo ( Tibetan : སྒར་གཙང་པོ , Wylie : sgar gtsang po ; Chinese : 噶尔藏布 ; pinyin : Găěr Zàngbù ), also called Gartang or Gar River , is a headwater of the Indus River in the Ngari Prefecture , Tibet , China . It merges with other headwater, Sênggê Zangbo , near the village of Tashigang to form

810-527: Was hoping to find Central Asian horses for East India Company 's stud as well as any other profitable merchandise such as the pashmina wool. The officials in Daba sent him on to Gartok. The Garpon received them civilly and agreed to sell the goods they wanted. He was later punished by Lhasa with three years imprisonment, for permitting foreigners into the country. The prohibition against foreigners did not apply to customary traders from Indian borderlands. However

840-413: Was moved to Shiquanhe . Gar Yarsa is situated on the bank of the Gartang River , one of the headwaters of the Indus River, at the base of the Kailash Range , at an elevation of 4,460 metres (14,630 ft). Gar ( Wylie : sGar ) means "encampment". During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Karma Kagyu lamas moved through the length and breadth of Tibet in "Great Encampments" or garchen . The term

870-542: Was signed in 1904 between Tibet and the British Empire. As per the Convention, Gartok, together with Yatung and Gyantse , were to have trade marts for traders from British India, as well as British trade agents who would supervise the trade and resolve any issues. A British party under Captain C. H. D. Ryder, returned from Lhasa to India via Gartok, to ascertain its suitability as a trade agency. They found only

900-414: Was stationed here. The Garpöns lived in Gar Gunsa for nine months in the year, and stayed at Gar Yarsa during August–October. But in the British nomenclature, the name "Gartok" was applied only to Gar Yarsa and the practice continues till date. After the Chinese annexation of Tibet , Gar Günsa continued to function as the headquarters of Western Tibet till 1965, after which it was moved to Shiquanhe . It

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