Awang Hot Spring in Gonjo County, Chamdo
Chinese Name: 阿旺温泉
English Name: Awang Hot Spring in Gonjo County, Chamdo
Location: Located in Gonjo County, Chamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region
Admission Fee: Free
Opening Hours: All Day
About Awang Hot Spring
Awang Hot Spring（阿旺温泉）is located in Gonjo County（贡觉县）, Chamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, which are with good hot spring conditions, good source and environmental conditions and good traffic condition. People visit to the hot spring to have bath and spa in an endless stream. It is the combination of tourism and vacation spots. The flow rate of the spring water is 0.1 cubic meters per second, the water volume reaches 3000 cubic meters and the outlet temperature is above 70 degrees. As early as over 100 years ago, people who came to the bath discovered that the hot spring has the ability to cure arthritis and skin disease, as well as the natural effect of promoting blood circulation, metabolism and eliminating fatigue. According to the water quality scientific testing from the Tibet Autonomous Region Water Environment Monitoring Center（西藏自治区水环境监测中心）of Chamdo sub-center, the hot spring water contains higher fluoride, which has good health care effect to the bones and joints of human body. So, it also has a great development value.
Along Gongmang Road（贡芒公路）, there is unique and magnificent plateau grassland scenery in the county, as well as numerous famous monasteries, rich branches of plants and animals and the resources of Chinese herbal medicine. The scenery is beautiful in four seasons, and the climate is very pleasant. The local people come to bathe here to get rid of tiredness and to have fun in spring, summer and autumn.
Attraction Transportation
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 Gonjo 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. They do not drive at night, so the whole journey may take five or six days. For individual tourists, hiring passing cars, mostly freight cars, is the best choice. These cars usually pick up passengers at the bus station in Gonjo County, and visitors can negotiate the details with the drivers.
Attraction Travel Tips
- Traveling Hours: one day
- Traveling Seasons: May and 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.
- As well as the Tibet Entry Permit, you also need to apply for Border Permit for traveling as this destination lies near the Chinese territory boundary.
Tips: Ten Things to Watch for Hot Springs Bathing
- When you soak in the hot spring, you must remember to pick off your metal ornaments; otherwise you will be very sad to find that your favorite jewelry has been sulfide black.
- Avoid soaking in the hot spring with empty stomach, or after meals and drink, otherwise there will be vertigo or cerebral hemorrhage.
- Choose to adapt to its own high, medium and low temperature hot spring pools, generally from low temperature to high temperature.
- You aren’t to be soaked in the hot spring long; otherwise there will be chest tightness, thirst, and dizziness and so on.
- It is best to apply moisturizing lotion immediately after soaking the hot spring to avoid any discomfort.
- Don’t take a hot spring alone to avoid an accident.
- After you soak the hot spring, you can flush it with water without the bath fluid, or you will flush out the minerals that are attached to your body when you soak in the hot spring.
- Patients with high blood pressure and heart disease should be cautious and slow when they get up from the hot spring, in case the blood vessels dilate and blood pressure drop, leading to dizziness and falling.
- Pregnant women should not take hot springs. Studies have confirmed that “high fever” can be teratogenic.
- After soaking in the hot spring, the human body’s water evaporates rapidly and needs to be replenished.
