Changmaoling Deer Training Area in Riwoqe County, Chamdo
Chinese Name: 长毛岭野鹿驯旅游区
English Name: Changmaoling Deer Training Area in Riwoqe County, Chamdo
Location: Located in Riwoqe County, Chamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region
Admission Fee: Free
Opening Hours: All Day
About Changmaoling Deer Training Area
Chamoling Deer Training Area（长毛岭野鹿驯旅游区）is about 60 kilometers to the northwest of Riwoqe County, Chamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region. Chamoling (Tramoling, Pinyin: Changmaoling), which is already mentioned in the Gesar epos, was declared a Nature Preserve in 1976 to protect its wildlife, especially the population of Red Deer, which due to the efforts of the local people and administration has survived. In many areas in Tibet deer populations went extinct in the 1960s and 1970s. In addition the area is supposed to contain populations of Snow Leopard, Wolf, Tibetan Brown Bear, White-lipped Deer, Musk Deer, Goral, Blue Sheep, Eared Pheasant, Brahminy Shelduck, and Crane to name a few rarer species.
The forest department has hired one wildlife guard to ensure wildlife protection in an area of 637 km2, which has an altitude between 3850 meters and 5274 meters. The landscape is dominated by the Grassland Mountains used for grazing. The forests, besides a few patches, have already disappeared a long time ago as they did in many other areas of Riwoqe. Valley grounds of the middle reaches of the Ke Chu are wide, but already too high up for agriculture. The higher peaks are barren and rocky. Yak husbandry is the main mean of local sustenance of the Khampas. Their houses are not two storied as in more fertile areas of Kham, but very low, one storied flat roofed houses. Before 1976, a herd of 60 Red deer was captured and is kept in captivity, now counting 120 deer. Yet herd growth is stagnating for many years due to fodder shortage in winter and the limited space allotted. The antlers of the deer are used as Chinese medicine and thus make keeping the herd a profitable business.
The forest department, which also is in charge of wildlife, asked ASIA to assist in finding a deer farm expert to train local people in order to improve deer keeping and breeding as well as antler production. In addition a better fodder base is required, a well needs to be dug within the compound, and the compound itself needs to be enlarged. Future plans include looking into the possibility of processing the antlers into medicine within Riwoqe. In regard of the wider preserve we intend to carry out a scientific study on the status of wildlife in the Chamoling preserve and we want to map out the area to ensure good protection of the most important wildlife habitats. The core issue, besides poaching, seems to be the intensive use of the area by pastoralists. The wildlife might be marginalized by domestic livestock, but at least they have coexisted for centuries.
Attraction Transportation
China National Highway 214
China National Highway 317
How to Get to Qamdo Riwoqe County
Air
Located in the Bangda Grassland, the Chamdo Bangda Airport is the world’s highest airport and has the longest runway. It is 136 kilometers (84.5 miles) from Chamdo County. As the first lateral airport in Tibet, Chamdo Bangda Airport started to be built in 1993 and finished in October, 1994. At present, it has air routes to/from domestic cities including Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Lhasa, Tianjin, Xian, and Xining; meanwhile, flights to/from Nepal are also operated at this airport.
Passengers can take airport shuttle bus to Riwoqe County from the airport.
The airport inquiry number is +86 0895-4821004.
Bus
The Prefecture is over 1,200 kilometers (746 miles) from Chengdu and over 1,100 kilometers (684 miles) from Lhasa. Every week at least three buses travel between Qamdo and the two cities. Apart from regular buses, the tourist bureau sometimes sends special buses to Lhasa for visitors. It usually takes 10 days from Lhasa to visit Riwoqe.
Attraction Travel Tips
- Traveling Hours: one day
- Traveling Seasons: June to September.
- High Altitude Sickness Avoiding: Better take some medicines for relief and keep warm all the time.
- As there is a large temperature gap between daytime and night, it is highly recommended to take along some pieces of thermal clothing, hat, and gloves and so on.
- Please try your best to respect the religious belief and local customs.
