Tianshuihai 甜水海 | |
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Military service station | |
![]() Sign for the Tianshuihai service station | |
Location relative to the greater Kashmir region Location relative to Trans-Karakoram Tract and Aksai Chin, China Location relative to Indian-administered Ladakh | |
Coordinates: 35°17′49″N79°33′40″E / 35.297°N 79.561°E | |
Administering country | China |
Province | Xinjiang Autonomous Region |
Prefecture | Hotan |
Elevation | 4,850 m (15,910 ft) |
Tianshuihai [2] [3] (Chinese :甜水海; pinyin :Tiánshuǐ hǎi), alternately spelled Tien Shui Hai, [4] is a salt water lake in the disputed Aksai Chin region administered by China as part of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region (Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture), [5] which is also claimed by India. The lake's basin is a small plain, formerly known as the Thaldat basin [6] or Mapothang. [7] The lake drains the Thaldat stream that flows from the southwest. [6] It is located east of the Lokzhung Range and northwest of the Aksai Chin Lake. [8]
The Xinjiang–Tibet Highway of the 1950s was laid close to the lake, and an army service station was built on its banks, called the Tianshuihai service station. [9] [10] Around 2000, an improved national highway (G219) was laid on a new alignment further to the east, and the Tianshuihai service station was moved to a new location, closer to the new alignment.
The name Tianshuihai means "sweet water sea" in Chinese, supposedly originating in local army folklore about a dying soldier whose last words before passing were that he wanted to taste sweetened water. [11]
The Tianshuihai basin (or Thaldat basin) is at the northeastern corner of the Lokzhung Range of hills, which divide the Aksai Chin region into two distinct halves (called Lingzithang Plains and Kuenlun Plains by geologist Frederic Drew). [12] [13] The lake is said to drain a very large area, via the Thaldat stream that flows through the Lokzhung Range in a northeasterly direction. [6]
The Thaldat area forms a small plain, which is covered with soft salt and disconnected watered pools from the Thaldat stream and its substreams (which have been referred to as "Thaldat lakes"). The ground is described as sterile. [6] However, on the western edge of the plain, at the foot of Lokzhung hills, patches of vegetation were reported by Henry Cayley, who explored the area as the British Joint Commissioner in Ladakh. The local guides referred to these patches as "Thaldat". Cayley also reported that fuel was "plentiful". [14]
Drew reported kyang (Tibetan wild ass) frequenting the basin, which was seen to be their watering place. Drew reported a two-mile-long track made by them. [15]
The Tianshuihai lake has a depth of 56.32 metres (184.8 ft). [5] All the lakes in the region are saltwater lakes. [16] Geologically, the area is part of a terrane that was formed in early Mesozoic. [17]
In 1857, Adolphe Schlagintweit, crossed the Aksai Chin plateau via the Thaldat basin. He was led through the route by a Yarkandi guide called Mahomed Ameen. Schagintweit was executed in Kashgar and did not get an opportunity to describe his explorations. Ameen is said to have given an imprecise description of the route to the British. [18]
In 1865, the surveyor W. H. Johnson surveyed the Aksai Chin region and took the same route as Schlagintweit had done earlier. He too crossed the Askai Chin plains, and went up to Khotan at the invitation of its then ruler. [19]
In 1867, the British stationed Henry Cayley as a Joint Commissioner in Ladakh for supporting British Indian trade through Ladakh. Cayley explored routes through the Aksai Chin plateau, including Thaldat. He noted that his Ladakhi porters seemed to know the place well and also that they found the name "Mapothang" objectionable in the Tibetan language. [20]
In 1870, a trade mission was sent to Yarkand under the leadership of T. D. Forsyth, during which all the routes through Aksai Chin were explored. It appears that two routes to the west of Thaldat (through Samzungling and Lingzithang) were found preferable, Thaldat fell out of interest after this. [21]
Tianshuihai | |||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 甜水海 | ||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 甜水海 | ||||||||
Literal meaning | sweet water sea | ||||||||
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The service station is located at an elevation of 4,850 metres (15,910 ft). [1] Due to this high elevation,there are few inhabitants in the remote area. Since the 1990s,there were numerous attempts by outsiders to establish restaurants or businesses in the area,but so far most have failed.[ citation needed ] While legally not permitted to accommodate outsiders,given the harsh environment,when not accommodating army personnel,the army service station would offer food and lodging to civilians for a relatively expensive price. [9] [22]
China National Highway 219,known as the Xinjiang–Tibet highway,passes nearby,connecting it with Lhasa and Yecheng County. The outpost is 575 kilometres (357 mi) from the starting point of National Highway 219 in Yecheng County. [23] The next settlement northward along the highway is Dahongliutan. The next settlement southward along the highway is the rest stop at Quanshui Lake in Tibet.
The service station was constructed in 1959. [23] During the Sino-Indian War in 1962,Tanshuihai region served as the main communication artery for 3 fronts of the Chinese offensive. [24]
Aksai Chin is an arid region divided between India and China,mostly controlled by China as part of Hotan County,Hotan Prefecture,Xinjiang and partly in Rutog County,Ngari Prefecture,Tibet and constituting the easternmost portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a dispute between India and China since 1959. It is claimed by India as part of its Leh District,Ladakh Union Territory.
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Hotan County is a county in the southwest of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Hotan Prefecture. Almost all the residents of the county are Uyghurs and live around oases situated between the desolate Taklamakan Desert and Kunlun Mountains. Hotan County is the southernmost county-level division of Xinjiang. The county borders Karakax/Moyu County to the northwest,Hotan City and Lop County to the northeast,Qira County to the east,Pishan County to the west,and Rutog County,Tibet to the southeast. Hotan County administers most of Aksai Chin,an area disputed between China and India. The Line of Actual Control divides the India-controlled part of Ladakh union territory from the Aksai Chin area administered as part of southwest Hotan County.
Pishan County as the official romanized name,also transliterated from Uyghur as Guma County,is a county within the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Hotan Prefecture. It contains an area of 39,412 km2 (15,217 sq mi). According to the 2002 census,it has a population of 220,000. The county borders Maralbexi County and Makit County to the north,Karakax County,Hotan County and Kunyu to the east and Kargilik County to the west. The county includes lands near the Karakoram Pass which are part of the Aksai Chin area that is disputed between China and India.
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The China National Highway 219 ... passes through no towns in Aksai Chin, only some military posts and truck stops, such as the very small Tianshuihai (el. 4,850 m (15,900 ft)) post.
Tianshuihai
Tianshuihai
based on meteorological data collected at Tien Shui Hai
和田县境内有主要湖泊5处:{...}甜水海;[ dead link ]
the last stop in Xinjiang, the tianshuihai[ sic ] Army Service Station, which is the highest Station in China. It is expensive to stay overnight at the Army Service Station, so we suggest that you camp nearby.
Tianshuihai{...}From here the road turns south, and climbs to the Khitai Pass (kilometre marker 535; 5150m), past the military base of Tianshuihai.
甜水海的来历,曾有这样一个故事:过去,站里有名老兵,临终前紧紧拉着老站长的手说,我想喝口甜水,说完便闭上了眼睛。后来,甜水海这个名字便成了历代官兵最美好的精神寄托。 ... 从1959年建站起,兵站所有的生活用水,都要到90公里外的"死人沟"泉水湖去拉,来回一趟至少6个小时,如果到了冬季,还得破冰取水。
甜水海一路过来都是咸水湖
They are predicted to have formed in the Tianshuihai terrane during its early Mesozoic accretion to the amalgamated Tarim–Qaidam–Kunlun cratonic block.
根据国家的法律法规,兵站是不允许接纳外人,靠近兵站属于违法行为,考虑到新藏线旅行的情况,兵站对求助者进行一定程度的接纳,作为礼尚往来,一定要知道感激和礼貌,注意言行举止。
甜水海兵站,距新藏公路的起点—新疆叶城的零公里处,是575公里。这里海拔4890米,是人民解放军海拔最高、气候最恶劣、条件最艰苦的兵站。
On the Chinese side, there was only one main communication artery ... Near Tianshuihai, this highway divides into three branch roads leading towards Tianwendian, He Weitan[ sic ] and Kongka Pass Defence Areas respectively.