Burang County is called Purang in Tibetan, and the county capital is also known as Burang or Purang in Tibetan and Taklakot in Nepali. It is an administrative division of Ngari Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The county covers an area of, and has a population of 9,657 as of 2010.
The county covers an area of, and has a population of some 9,058 people as of 2010. The county seat, located in the Jirang Neighborhood Committee, is located only from Nepalese territory, and north-west of Kathmandu. It is an important Chinese customs point between Tibet, Nepal and India. Much of the county consists of river valleys of mountains and lakes such as Kangrinboqê, The Naimonany Peak Gunrla and Lake Maponen Yamco Lake Manasarowar. The Karnali River is also a prominent geographical feature of the landscape. Wildlife commonly seen in the far south-western Tibetan county are wild donkeys, wild yaks, yellow goats, antelope, rock goat, lynxes, foxes, leopards and marmots.
Climate
The annual average temperature in the county is, and annual precipitation averages.
Administrative Divisions
The county is divided into Burang Town,, and Hor Township. The county government is seated in the Jirang Neighborhood Committee in Burang Town.
History
Some historians believe that Tegla kar near Burang was built during the Zhangzhung dynasty which was conquered by the Tibetan kingSongtsen Gampo in the early 7th century CE. It became the main fort of the Burang Kingdom, in the 10th century under King Kori, one of the two sons of Tashi Gon, King of the Guge Kingdom. The Guge and Burang kingdoms were separated about the late 11th century, when king Logtsha Tsensong founded an independent realm. In about 1330 the 13th king Sonam De took over the important Malla kingdom in western Nepal on the extinction of the local dynasty. The dynasty of Burang kings died out shortly before 1376. The territory was subsequently dominated in turns by the neighbouring kingdoms Guge and Mustang.
Economy
In 2010, the county reported a GDP of 140 million Renminbi, fiscal revenue of 4.27 million Renminbi, and retail sales totaling 26.97 million Renminbi. Burang is an important barley-growing region and traditionally barley and salt from the salt lakes to the north of Taklakot made up the bulk of the trade to the south, while rice and a wide range of luxuries were traded back into Tibet from Nepal. The local villagers carried the produce across the ranges into Nepal on caravans of sheep and goats during the summer and autumn. Sheep and goats are fitted with double packs which can carry up to of barley or salt on the 3 week journey to the terai or low-lands of Nepal. In winter and early spring the region is often in total isolation, cut off by heavy snow falls.
