Günsa
title: "Günsa" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["populated-places-in-ngari-prefecture", "gar-county"] topic_path: "general/populated-places-in-ngari-prefecture" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Günsa" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Günsa |
| native_name | |
| settlement_type | Township |
| total_type | |
| coordinates | |
| pushpin_map | China Tibet |
| pushpin_label_position | |
| pushpin_map_caption | Location in the Tibet Autonomous Region |
| <!-- | pushpin_relief |
| subdivision_type | Country |
| subdivision_name | People's Republic of China |
| subdivision_type1 | Autonomous region |
| subdivision_name1 | Tibet |
| subdivision_type2 | Prefecture |
| subdivision_name2 | Ngari |
| subdivision_type3 | County |
| subdivision_name3 | Gar |
| population_as_of | 2020 |
| population_total | 2718 |
| timezone | CST |
| utc_offset | +8 |
| elevation_m | 4270 |
| :: |
|name = Günsa |official_name = |other_name = |native_name = |nickname = |settlement_type =Township |total_type = |image_skyline = |imagesize = |image_caption = |image_map = |mapsize = |coordinates = |map_caption = |pushpin_map = China Tibet |pushpin_label_position = |pushpin_map_caption = Location in the Tibet Autonomous Region |pushpin_mapsize = |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = People's Republic of China |subdivision_type1 = Autonomous region |subdivision_name1 = Tibet |subdivision_type2 = Prefecture |subdivision_name2 = Ngari |subdivision_type3 = County |subdivision_name3 = Gar |leader_title = |leader_name = |established_title = |established_date = |area_magnitude = |area_total_km2 = |area_land_km2 = |area_water_km2 = |population_as_of = 2020 |population_note = |population_total = 2718 |population_metro = |population_density_km2 = |timezone = CST |utc_offset = +8 |timezone_DST = |utc_offset_DST = |elevation_m = 4270 |postal_code = |area_code = |blank_name = |blank_info = |website = |footnotes =
Gar Günsa (), also called Günsa or Kunsa (), is a township in Gar County in the Ngari Prefecture of the Tibet region of China. Gar Günsa is situated on the bank of the Gartang River, one of the headwaters of the Indus River flowing to the south of the Kailash Range, at an elevation of 4270 m. Gar Günsa, along with its sister encampment Gar Yarsa, used to be the administrative headquarters for Western Tibet (Ngari) and jointly referred to as Gartok. In 1965, the headquarters of Ngari was moved to Shiquanhe, which also serves as the headquarters of the Ngari Prefecture as whole.
The seat of the township is Gar Chongsar (; ). The Ngari Gunsa Airport is adjacent to the village. Two other administrative villages, Sogmai () and Namru () are part of the township.
Name
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Gar-Valley.jpg" caption="Gar Valley"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Map_of_Gar_by_Strachey_1851.jpg" caption="Strachey]] (1851) showing Gar Gunsa and Gar Yarsa. The Gartang river joins Sengge Zangbo at a location called Tagle, with Langmar and Rala nearby."] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Gartok_and_vicinity_-_Survey_of_India_1936.jpg" caption="Map of the Gar valley in a Survey of India map (1936), showing Gartok (Gar Yarsa) and Gar Dzong (Gar Gunsa)"] ::
Gar () means "encampment". During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Karma Kagyu lamas moved through the length and breadth of Tibet in "Great Encampments" or garchen. The term is also used often for military camps. Eric Teichman, Travels of a Consular Officer in Eastern Tibet: Together with a History of the Relations Between China, Tibet and India (Cambridge: The University Press, 1922), p. 130.
Gar Günsa means the "winter camp". Encyclopædia Britannica, Vol. 10 (Encyclopædia Britannica, 1973; ), p. 3. John Keay, History of World Exploration (The Royal Geographical Society; Mallard Press, 1991), p. 76. The ninth century bilingual text Mahāvyutpatti translated günsa as Sanskrit हैमन्तिकावासः (sa), literally, the residence of the winter season. Even though Gar Yarsa has acquired the name "Gartok" in popular parlance, officially, "Gartok" consisted of both Gar Günsa and Gar Yarsa (the "summer camp"). The latter is forty miles upstream on Gartang at a higher altitude.: "Gartok in reality consists of two distinct places situated forty miles apart. The one we visited is known as Gar Yarsa or Summer Quarters, and the other, which is also on the Indus but at a lower altitude, Gar Gunsa or Winter Quarters."
History
Tibetan administration
Gar Günsa, along with its sister encampment Gar Yarsa, was referred to as "Gartok", and served as Lhasa's administrative headquarters for Western Tibet (Ngari) after it was conquered from Ladakh in 1684. A senior official called Garpön was stationed here. The Garpöns lived in Gar Gunsa for nine months in the year, and stayed at Gar Yarsa during August–October.
But in the British nomenclature, the name "Gartok" was applied only to Gar Yarsa and the practice continues till date.
Chinese administration
After the Chinese annexation of Tibet, Gar Günsa continued to function as the headquarters of Western Tibet till 1965, after which it was moved to Shiquanhe. It was felt that the living conditions in Gar Günsa were extremely difficult.
References
Bibliography
References
- (1 July 2021). "阿里地区噶尔县第七次全国人口普查主要数据公报". 阿里地区噶尔县统计局 [Bureau of Statistics of Gar County, Ngari Prefecture].
- Sullivan, Brenton. (2020). "Building a Religious Empire: Tibetan Buddhism, Bureaucracy, and the Rise of the Gelukpa". University of Pennsylvania Press.
- Chakraverty, Anjan. (1998). "Sacred Buddhist Painting". Lustre Press.
- [http://learn.eyesofworlds.com/maha%CC%84vyutpatti%205600-5699.html Mahāvyutpatti: 5600-5699], Eyes of Worlds website, retrieved 20 July 2021.
- (2001). "Ngari". [[:zh:五洲传播出版社.
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