Chang Chenmo River

Chang Chenmo River or Changchenmo River is a tributary of the Shyok River,[2] which flows into the Indus River.[3] The source of Chang Chenmo lies in the disputed region of Aksai Chin in the northwest corner of Rutog County in Tibet.[1][4] Chang Chenmo means "Great Northern" in Tibetic languages.[5]

Chang Chenmo River
Changchenmo River
Etymology"great northern" in Tibetic
Location
CountryIndia, China
State / PronvinceLadakh (India), Tibet (China)
District / PrefectureLeh (India), Ngari (China)
Diskit / CountyNubra (India), Rutog (China)
Physical characteristics
Source 
 ⁃ coordinates34.3542°N 79.5446°E / 34.3542; 79.5446
Mouth 
 ⁃ coordinates
34.2758°N 78.2889°E / 34.2758; 78.2889
 ⁃ elevation
12,000 feet (3,700 m)[1]
Basin features
River systemIndus River
Tributaries 
 ⁃ leftToglung Marpo, Silung Kongma, Silung Burma, Silung Yogma, Rindi
 ⁃ rightKyapsang, Kugrung
Chang Chenmo River
Traditional Chinese羌臣摩河
Simplified Chinese羌臣摩河

The river's source is from a large glacier near Lanak La,[3] from which the river flows westward.[6] In Tibet, it is joined by Toglung Marpo, Kyapsang,[7] and Silung Kongma.[7] It crosses the Line of Actual Control from China to India at Kongka Pass, entering into the Ladakh region of India. In Ladakh, it is joined by Silung Burma,[7] Silung Yogma,[7] Kugrung River,[2] Rimdi River,[8] and numerous other streams before flowing into the Shyok River.[9]

History

In the late 1800s, in order to facilitate trade between the Indian subcontinent and Tarim Basin, the British attempted to promote a caravan route via the Chang Chenmo Valley as an alternative to the difficult and tariffed Karakoram Pass.[10] The Maharaja Ranbir Singh at the request of the British made improvements to the trails and facilities of the campsites in Chang Chenmo Valley.[11][12] Unfortunately, in addition of being longer and higher elevation than the traditional route, this route also goes through the desolate desert of Aksai Chin.[10][12] By 1890s, traders have mostly given up on this route.[7] At the time, Chang Chenmo valley was also a popular hunting spot for British officers on leave.[13][14]

Since the 1950s, the river is in the disputed territory between China and India.[4] As such, it hosts numerous border outposts from both sides, such as Kongka Pass, Hot Springs, and Tsogstsalu.[15][16] The region was also the site of numerous tensions in the past, such as the 1959 Kongka Pass incident.[15]

References
  1. Raghav Sharan Sharma (6 December 2017). The Unfought War of 1962: An Appraisal. Taylor & Francis. pp. 39–. ISBN 978-1-351-05636-6. This is a long valley tributary to Shyok for more than 70 miles as the crow flies. The height of the juncture with Shyok is 12,000 ft, in the middle 15,000 ft and rises gradually to a pass which marks the boundary of the Rudok district. ... Hot spring is found in upper Chang Chengmo valley. The tributary originates from Lanak la under Chinese possession. ... Mr. Drew in 1875 observed: ... From Karakoram pass eastwards to past the meridian of 80° there has been no authoritarian demarcation
  2. Donald Macintyre (1993). Hindu-Koh: Wanderings and Wild Sport on and Beyond the Himalayas. Asian Educational Services. pp. 306–. ISBN 978-81-206-0851-1. the Changchenmo river--a tributary of the Shyok ... proceed up another long glen north of Changchenmo named Kugrang
  3. Sharad Singh Negi (1991). Himalayan Rivers, Lakes, and Glaciers. Indus Publishing. pp. 53–. ISBN 978-81-85182-61-2. The Chang Celmo river is a tributary of the Shyok river which joins the Indus river in Ladakh. This river originates from a large glacier on the western slopes of the Lanak La pass
  4. Bhonsale, Mihir (February 2018). "Understanding Sino-Indian Border Issues: An Analysis of Incidents Reported in the Indian Media" (PDF). Observer Research Foundation. p. 7. Retrieved 9 January 2020. This more than 1,600-km-long sector has two distinct disputes: first, the issue of Aksai Chin, and second, of the Ladakh-Tibet Autonomous Region boundary from Changchenmo Valley (north of Pangong Lake) to the region of Spiti 17 in Himachal Pradesh.
  5. Robert Shaw (1871). Visits to High Tartary, Yârkand, and Kâshgar (formerly Chinese Tartary): And Return Journey Over the Karakoram Pass. J. Murray. p. 81. Chang-chenmo means "Great-Northern (River)"
  6. A. Malhotra (2003). Trishul: Ladakh And Kargil 1947-1993. Lancer Publishers. p. 41. ISBN 978-81-7062-296-3. The Chang Chenmo River. It originates from Lanak La, flows westward and joins the Shyok. The flow of the river between that confluence and Tsogstsalu is through a deep gorge
  7. A. E. Ward (1896). The Tourist's And--sportsman's Guide to Kashmir and Ladak, &c. Thacker, Spink. pp. 106–107. Joining the left bank of the river opposite to Kyam are the Silung Yokma, Silung Burma and Silung Kongma. ... cross the Changchenmo valley journey up the Kiepsang stream ... The traders have now almost entirely given up the Changchenmo-Shahidula route to Yarkand.
  8. Henry Zouch Darrah (1898). Sport in the Highlands of Kashmir: Being a Narrative of an Eight Months' Trip in Baltistan and Ladak, and a Lady's Experiences in the Latter Country; Together with Hints for the Guidance of Sportsmen. R. Ward, limited. p. 297. Rimdi river ... reached the point where the Rimdi flows into the Changchenmo river
  9. Prabal Sarkar; Jigmet Takpa; Riyaz Ahmed; Sandeep Kumar Tiwari; Anand Pendharkar; Saleem-ul-Haq; Javaid Miandad; Ashwini Upadhyay.; Rahul Kaul (7 July 2008). "Mountain Migrants - Survey of Tibetan Antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii) and Wild Yak (Bos grunniens) in Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, India" (PDF). snowleopardnetwork.org. Wildlife Trust of India. p. 21. Retrieved 9 January 2020. Map of Chang Chenmo Valley
  10. Harish Kohli (2000). Across the Frozen Himalaya: The Epic Winter Ski Traverse from Karakoram to Lipu Lekh. Indus Publishing. pp. 86–87. ISBN 978-81-7387-106-1. the five difficult passes through the Karakorams posed a barrier ... Cayley reconnoitred a route that went through the Changchenmo ranges ... if anything these new passes were higher than the ones they replaced, and the land in between them was also higher. ... The route had another advantage in that trade from British India could flow through Kulu via Changchenmo to Yarkand, completely bypassing the customs officials of the Maharaja at Leh.
  11. Kaul, Hriday Nath (2003). India China Boundary in Kashmir. Gyan Publishing House. p. 111. ISBN 978-81-212-0826-0. Ranbir Singh having, at British request, built the road, "serais" and small store houses for grain.
  12. Accounts and Papers. East India. XLIX. House of Commons, British Parliament. 1874. pp. 23–33. (p26) The Changchenmo line ... The extra distance and the sojourn for 5 days longer in such a desolate tract (p33) Every endeavour has been made to improve the Changchenmo route--serais having been built at some places, and depots of grain established as far as Gogra
  13. Hayward, G. W. (1870). "Journey from Leh to Yarkand and Kashgar, and Exploration of the Sources of the Yarkand River". Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London. 40: 37. doi:10.2307/1798640. ISSN 0266-6235. Chang Chenmo is now well known, being visited every year by at least half-a-dozen officers on long leave to Kashmir. The game to be found...
  14. H.I.N. (1902). "Sport in the Changchenmo Valley, Ladakh". The Navy and Army Illustrated. Vol. 15. London: Hudson & Kearns. p. iv.
  15. Far Eastern Economic Review. 1963. p. 446. October 19 a party from a permanent Indian post at Tsogstsalu, 60 or 65 miles west of the border claimed by India north of Lake Pangong, set up a temporary camp at Hot Spring, some fifteen miles further east. Three men of this party, who had made a reconnaissance eastward towards a pass called Kongka La, failed to return. A patrol of about twenty therefore departed on the morning of the 21st in search of them, dividing into two groups. According to the Indian account these groups were groups were suddenly attacked with automatic and mortar fire, one from a Chinese force entrenched on a nearby hill and the other from a force on the south bank of the Chang Chenmo river.
  16. Jindal, Akash (November–December 2018). "The Story of Hot Springs" (PDF). Indian Police Journal. No. Special Issue on Police Martyrdom. pp. 20–33. ISSN 0537-2429. Retrieved 4 January 2020. (p22) Karam Singh of ITBF was assigned the task of establishing outposts near the Chinese Occupation Line ... “Hot Springs” was barely three Km far from the site where Chinese Army had intruded.
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