The magic, beauty and richness of the Northern Tibetan Plateau stem from the numerous snow-capped mountains, glaciers and vast grasslands, as well as from the unique and dotted lakes.
These countless lakes have fantastic colors, rich mineral deposits, and are magnificent and charming. They are like bright "sapphires" inlaid on the plateau.
This is the beautiful winter landscape of Namtso Lake (photographed by Tang Zhaoming in 1989)
In the midsummer of 2001, I followed the scientific expedition team to the uninhabited area of ??the northern Tibetan Plateau, and the first stop of the scientific expedition was It is the highest lake in the world - Namtso.
When driving from Lhasa to Namtso, the Nagenla Pass at an altitude of 5,190 meters is a must-pass. Standing at the mountain pass, looking back are the snow-capped peaks and the blue lake from a distance.
"Namtso" is the Tibetan name. "Namtso" means sky, and "Tso" means lake, which means "Sky Lake". It is located at the foot of Nyenchen Tanglha Snow Mountain, at the border of Bangor County and Damxung County in Tibet. According to the current administrative division map, about two-thirds of the lake surface is in Bangor County in northern Tibet, and one-third of the lake surface is in Damxung County in Lhasa City.
Namtso was formed in the depression during the Himalayan Movement of the Tertiary Period. At that time, the lake surface was more than twice as large as it is now. Due to later climate changes, the lake has shrunk and its current area is only 1,940 square kilometers.
Due to the retreat of Lake Namtso, the limestone in the Jurassic strata gradually emerged from the water, gradually forming the Zhaxiduo Peninsula. Later, the lake continued to retreat unevenly, and due to the gradual erosion of the limestone on the island, colorful karst landforms were formed.
Viewed from the air, the Zhaxiduo Peninsula, which is connected to the land, looks like a giant rhinoceros drinking water from the lake. Its area is about 10 square kilometers. Among the many islands in Namtso, it is the most famous.
When the early morning glow quietly shines on the Nyenchen Tanglha Snow Peak at an altitude of 7111 meters, it is a moving world of snow-capped mountains, grasslands and lakes. Under the snow-capped peaks, the white waves of Namtso Lake are constantly lapping the shore, forming a magnificent scene unique to the plateau.
This is the Namtso landscape in the sunset (photographed by Tang Zhaoming in 1987)
Looking down at the lake, it is crystal clear, clear and clear, with pebbles scattered on the bottom of the water dozens of meters deep , clearly visible. This beautiful scenery is really refreshing and breathtaking. I kept pressing the shutter of the camera in my hand...
In the ancient myth of the Northern Tibetan Plateau, Namtso and Nyainqing are 4,718 meters above sea level. Tanggula is a couple who depend on each other for life and death. They are the "sacred mountain" and "holy lake" in the hearts of northern Tibetan herdsmen.
The worship of "holy mountains" and "holy lakes" is a legendary story of northern Tibet that has been practiced by Tibetans since ancient times. In these stories, people not only deify the snow-capped mountains and lakes, but also personify them.
Herdsmen say that Nyenchen Tanglha and Namtso are kings and queens in the divine world in northern Tibet. The snow-capped mountain lower than the main peak is their youngest son, known as "Little Tangla".
This is the landscape of Namtso's "Holy Elephant Gate" on the side of Bangor County in northern Tibet (photographed by Tang Zhaoming on August 4, 2012)
When boarding the Tashido Peninsula, first of all What comes into view are two huge limestone karst pillars more than 15 meters high and about 10 meters in diameter. Two strange stone pillars are neatly arranged on the flat beach in front of the island. They are actually the same height and thickness, and form a natural stone gate about 8 meters apart.
During our scientific research, we discovered that the "Gashang Cave" is named after its shape like two joined hands. The cave is 4 to 5 meters deep. Legend has it that people can purify their souls after entering and coming out, becoming as innocent and kind as a newborn child. Because there were so many people entering the cave, the walls of the cave were rubbed as brightly as a mirror.
There is also a set of three caves in the Tashiduo Peninsula. The middle one is the "Shambhala Cave" with a depth of about 15 meters. The stalactites inside are stacked like layers of terraces, and there is a ray of skylight on the top of the cave. Reality and illusion; the left cave has a spindle-shaped entrance, facing the holy lake, with skylight and water reflections reflected in it, and is called the "Gate to Heaven"; the right cave extends to the depths of the cliff, is dark and daunting, and is called "Hell" door".
On the ridge where we camped, there was a "Mani Stone Wall" more than 100 meters long, which was formed by the passage of Zhuanhu believers over thousands of years. The wall is built with slabs and stones engraved with scriptures and Buddha statues, and it continues to be lengthened and taller to this day.
On the top of a cliff on the Zhaxiduo Peninsula, a small stone forest was formed due to the dissolution of limestone. From a distance, it looks like hundreds of monks worshiping the lake and chanting sutras. They are lifelike in shape and are called spiritual creatures. Natural objects like this, with both strange sand and strange rocks, can be found everywhere on the Tashiduo Peninsula, and they are too numerous to mention. This island is called "Auspicious Island" by the Tibetan people, and it seems to be closely related to these natural things.
There are also many rock paintings painted on cave walls in the Tashido Peninsula. These rock paintings charmingly reflect the childhood of plateau human society with their unique contents such as nomadism and hunting. Although they are inevitably naive and rough, they show a vivid, simple and fantasy color.
After completing the scientific expedition to Namtso, the scientific expedition team advanced all the way to the hinterland of the no-man’s land in northern Tibet. The most unforgettable thing along the way is the countless lakes one after another. In addition to water, these lakes are salt. It can be said that the salt here is “inexhaustible”.
Due to climate changes, the rise of the earth's crust and the retreat of lake levels, the nearly dried up and concentrated lakes here have crystallized rich sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, lithium, chlorine and other salts. mineral.
In Kongkong Chaka, located to the west of Gacuo Township in the Shuanghu Special Zone of Nagqu Prefecture (now Shuanghu County, Nagqu City), scientific research discovered that this salt lake crystal is nearly dry and has an altitude of 4820 meters. The salt content is very high, and it was the place where herders from northern Tibet used to carry salt.
Historically, the ancestors of northern Tibetan herdsmen drove their pack cattle or pack sheep to dig salt here and transport it to agricultural areas for "salt and grain exchange", singing the centuries-old and sad tradition of "carrying salt" song.
This is the Caido Chaka Salt Lake located in the uninhabited land of northern Tibet (photographed by Tang Zhaoming in 1998)
Similar to this edible salt lake, there is also Xiaocha on the northern Tibetan Plateau Card, Pengyancuo, Caiduocha card, etc. These salt lakes were historically the main salt used during the exchange of agricultural and animal husbandry products, and were also the salt consumed by the ancestors of northern Tibetan herdsmen. Lobsang Danzhen, director of the Organizing Committee of the Scientific Expedition in the Uninhabited Land of the Northern Tibetan Plateau, told me that the most famous one here is the Pengyancuo Salt Mine. In Tibetan farming areas, people like to eat Pengyan Salt. In addition to being eaten, this salt can also treat stomach problems. Elderly people in rural areas will know if it is Tomohiko's salt just by looking at it.
Salt is an essential food for human life and production, especially for people in pastoral areas. In addition to being eaten, it was almost the currency of herdsmen in the past. Herders used it to exchange for grain, tea and other daily necessities.
This is the salt-carrying team of herdsmen driving groups of pack cattle to the salt lakes in the no-man’s land in northern Tibet to carry salt (photo taken by Tang Zhaoming in 1988)
In the eyes of the herdsmen, each salt lake She is a generous goddess. Every year in May and June, when the grassland is about to turn green, a salt-carrying team composed of strong men sets off to the remote uninhabited area of ??northern Tibet, where there are many salt lakes. A salt-carrying team usually has dozens or hundreds of pack oxen, or hundreds of pack sheep, and is led by ten or twenty men on horseback. It usually takes three to four months and a thousand or two thousand miles to go back and forth. This is an expedition that tests one's perseverance and endurance and is full of hardships. The herdsmen of the pack team stopped to sleep in the open air every afternoon and set off at around three in the morning. It takes one or two months to reach the Salt Lake.
After filling the cowhide bags with salt, they began to return. The whole trip was very hard. In front of us are endless grasslands, snow-capped mountains, and rivers. My pants are torn, my butt is worn out, my feet are red and swollen from walking, and there is still a long road ahead. The northern Tibetan folk song "Song of Carrying Salt: Elegy on the Road" sings: "... When I set out from my hometown, I drove thousands of sheep. When I walked through the land without grass and water, my lovely sheep died one after another; I When I set off from my hometown, I filled my flower bag with butter meat tea.
When the steps are heavy and heavy, I am on my way home, and the people I carry salt eat grass and drink snow water..."
Now, this working method that has lasted for hundreds of thousands of years has ended, and many places have used time-saving Labor-saving cars transport salt. Especially in order to eliminate the "big neck" disease in the past, the relevant departments have already banned people from eating these uniodized salts, and the pack-carrying team and the culture of carrying salt have gradually faded out of people's sight.
This is the beautiful and magical Northern Tibetan Plateau, the beautiful and magnificent lakes on the Northern Tibetan Plateau! (China Tibet Online Article, Photo/Tang Zhaoming)