Yume, Tibet

Yume or Yümé,^[1] also spelt Yümai^[2] (Tibetan: ཡུལ་སྨད་, Wylie: yul smad, THL: yül mé), is a township in the Lhuntse County in Tibet region of China. Yume is on the bank of the Yume Chu river, a tributary of the Subansiri River, which it joins the China–India border close to Taksing. The township is part of the Tsari district, considered holy by Tibetans.

Yume ཡུལ་སྨད་
Yümai
Yume Location within Tibet Autonomous Region
Coordinates: 28.6332°N 93.0731°E / 28.6332; 93.0731
Country	China
Region	Tibet
Prefecture	Shannan Prefecture
County	Lhünzê County
Area
• Total	450 km2 (170 sq mi)
Population  (2017)
• Total	32
• Major Nationalities	Tibetan
• Regional dialect	Tibetan language
Time zone	+8

Location and significance

15km
10miles

Dakpa Sheri

Yume Chu

Subansiri

Tsari Chu

Lung

Charme

Sangnag
Choling

Chosam

Chikchar

Migyitun

Gelensiniak

Longju

Taksing

Yume

Potrang

  

Dakpa Sheri mountain and the locations marking the rongkor pilgrimage^[3][4]

Yume is on the bank of Yume Chu river, a short tributary of the Subansiri River, which it joins near Tibet's border with India's Arunachal Pradesh. Yume is in the western section of the Buddhist holy ground of Tsari centred at the Dakpa Sheri mountain.^[5][6]

The 12-yearly rongkor (ravine circuit) pilgrimage around the Tsari mountain passed through Yume, after passing through Migyitun, Gelensiniak and Taksing, to finish at Chösam. The last rongkor pilgrimage was held in 1956, after which the Sino-Indian border conflict put a stop to the practice.^[7] Tibetologist Claude Arpi has called for India and China to cooperate to bring about a resumption of the pilgrimage.^[8]

Development

Yume is in a wet Himalayan border region uncharacteristic of the dry Tibetan plateau. With the shutting down of the Tsari pilgrimage, the population of Yume seems to have dwindled. In 2011, it was reported that Yume had only nine households, and described as China's smallest township.^[2][9]

China has funded development of the region by building roads, mobile telephone networks, a power grid and a medical centre.^[10] Its current population is said to be 300, probably including Chinese staff and settlers.^[9]

Transportation

Yume Highway connects the town of Chösam with Yume, and runs almost till the end of the township, barring the uncertain China-India border region. Chösam is on China National Highway 219, connecting to other major towns of the region such as Migyitun, Sangnag Chöling, Charme, Doyul, Lung and Chayul.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Tibet

References

1. Huber (1992), note 56, p. 17.
2. Yao Chun, ed. (1 November 2011). "China's smallest village has only eight families". People's Daily Online. Translated by Yao Chun. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
3. Huber 1999, p. 95.
4. Arpi, Claude (21 January 2021). "Chinese village in Arunachal: India must speak up!". Rediff. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
5. Huber (1992).
6. Huber (1999).
7. Huber (1999), p. 148.
8. Arpi, Claude, "Tibet in the India-China Relations: A possible way ahead" (PDF), claudearpi.net
9. Arpi, Claude (4 July 2021), "The Queen of Yume: Implications for India", Indian Defence Review
10. 西藏移动贯彻习近平总书记给卓嘎央宗姐妹回信精神 加强网络覆盖 [Tibet Mobile implements the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's reply to the sisters of Zhuoga Yangzong to strengthen network coverage]. Archived from the original on 2018-03-04.

Bibliography

• Huber, Toni (1992), "A Tibetan Map of lHo-kha in the South-Eastern Himalayan Borderlands of Tibet", Imago Mundi, 44: 2+9–23, doi:10.1080/03085699208592738, JSTOR 1151225
• Huber, Toni (1999), The Cult of Pure Crystal Mountain: Popular Pilgrimage and Visionary Landscape in Southeast Tibet, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-535313-6