Pagri
Encyclopedia
Pagri or Phari is a town in Yadong County
in the Tibet Autonomous Region
(Xizang Zizhiqu), China
, near the border with Bhutan
. Population 2121 (2004). It is one of the highest and coldest towns in the world, being 15,000 feet above sea-level.
, the first Englishman to reach Lhasa, visited Pagri from 21st September until 5th November 1811 and had this to say about his room: "Dirt, dirt, grease, smoke. Misery,but good mutton.", a verdict which probably could have applied to the whole town. Pagri was of some military importance in the early 20th century when it was occupied by the British expedition
under Francis Younghusband
in 1904. The Pagri Fortress (Dzong) was located here and was important for the government as it stood between Tibet and Bhutan. Pagri was a staging area en route to Gyantse
and ultimately Lhasa
.
During the summer of 1912, the 13th Dalai Lama met Agvan Dorzhiev
at Phari Dzong and then accompanied him to the Samding Monastery
, before returning to Lhasa after his exile in India.
Thubten Ngodup, the current Nechung Oracle
, was born in Phari in 1957.
zone on the south side, with an average annual temperature -0.2 ℃, and an extreme maximum temperature of 19.3 ℃. Annual precipitation is about 380 mm, snow and ice melt forming rich water resources, shrubs and meadows development, a good place for the development of animal husbandry. Pagri is rich in minerals, wild animals, plants, and tourism resources. It is also a trading centre but due to geographical location is prone to natural disasters. Summer flash floods, mudslides, winter avalanches, snowstorms, etc. are common, and poor facilities makes it vulnerable to disaster. During the rainy season, water levels rise causing serious flooding, reducing soil quality and arable land every year, damaging the ecological environment and a threat to the inhabitants of Pagri. To the northeast of Pagri is Mount Jomolhari.
Yadong County
Chomo County is a frontier county and trade-market of Tibet, situated in the mouth of the Chumbi valley near the Indian frontier. It lies in the middle part of Himalayas and the south of Tibet Autonomous Region, covering about 4,306 square kilometers with a population of 10,000...
in the Tibet Autonomous Region
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region , Tibet or Xizang for short, also called the Xizang Autonomous Region is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China , created in 1965....
(Xizang Zizhiqu), China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, near the border with Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
. Population 2121 (2004). It is one of the highest and coldest towns in the world, being 15,000 feet above sea-level.
History
Thomas ManningThomas Manning
Thomas Manning is considered the first lay Chinese studies scholar in Europe and was the first Englishman to enter Lhasa, the holy city of Tibet.-Life:...
, the first Englishman to reach Lhasa, visited Pagri from 21st September until 5th November 1811 and had this to say about his room: "Dirt, dirt, grease, smoke. Misery,but good mutton.", a verdict which probably could have applied to the whole town. Pagri was of some military importance in the early 20th century when it was occupied by the British expedition
British expedition to Tibet
The British expedition to Tibet during 1903 and 1904 was an invasion of Tibet by British Indian forces, whose mission was to establish diplomatic relations and trade between the British Raj and Tibet...
under Francis Younghusband
Francis Younghusband
Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband, KCSI, KCIE was a British Army officer, explorer, and spiritual writer...
in 1904. The Pagri Fortress (Dzong) was located here and was important for the government as it stood between Tibet and Bhutan. Pagri was a staging area en route to Gyantse
Gyantse
Gyantse is a town located in Gyangzê County, Shigatse Prefecture. It was historically considered the third largest and most prominent town in the Tibet region , but there are now at least ten larger Tibetan cities.-Location:The town is strategically located in the Nyang River Valley on the ancient...
and ultimately Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
.
During the summer of 1912, the 13th Dalai Lama met Agvan Dorzhiev
Agvan Dorzhiev
Agvan Lobsan Dorzhiev, also Agvan Dorjiev or Dorjieff , was a Russian-born monk of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, sometimes referred by his scholarly title as Tsenyi Khempo...
at Phari Dzong and then accompanied him to the Samding Monastery
Samding Monastery
Samding Monastery, Samten Ling, or Samding Goinba Samding, a Geluk Ani gompa - which also housed some monks - was built on a hill on a peninsula jutting into the sacred lake, Yar-'brog or Yamdrok Tso, about east of Nangkatse, and some southwest of Lhasa, at an altitude of 4,423 m or...
, before returning to Lhasa after his exile in India.
Thubten Ngodup, the current Nechung Oracle
Nechung Oracle
The Nechung Oracle is the State Oracle of Tibet. The medium of the State Oracle currently resides with the current Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India...
, was born in Phari in 1957.
Environment
The houses are mostly made of Tibetan traditional stone and wood. The Pagri Valley lies in an alpine steppeSteppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
zone on the south side, with an average annual temperature -0.2 ℃, and an extreme maximum temperature of 19.3 ℃. Annual precipitation is about 380 mm, snow and ice melt forming rich water resources, shrubs and meadows development, a good place for the development of animal husbandry. Pagri is rich in minerals, wild animals, plants, and tourism resources. It is also a trading centre but due to geographical location is prone to natural disasters. Summer flash floods, mudslides, winter avalanches, snowstorms, etc. are common, and poor facilities makes it vulnerable to disaster. During the rainy season, water levels rise causing serious flooding, reducing soil quality and arable land every year, damaging the ecological environment and a threat to the inhabitants of Pagri. To the northeast of Pagri is Mount Jomolhari.