![[ the other image ]](/images/logo/toi-logo_2x.png){kind=logo}
Yangpachen
These are the hot springs at Yangpachen, about 90 km north of Lhasa. The site features the PRC's oldest geothermal power station and an outdoor swimming pool at 4300m above sea. The power plant, built in 1976/77, produces a substantial part of Lhasa's electricity needs; the pool – sometimes advertised as the highest in the world – is filled with mineral water from the hot springs and offers splendid views of the broad Yangpachen valley and the Nyenchen Thanglha mountain range.
Yangpachen attracts many tour groups on their way from Lhasa to Lake Namtso and back. Souvenir sellers have set up make-shift shops between the power station and the entrance to the spa.
Were the site constructed today, it would probably incorporate all sorts of Tibetan stylistic elements. A Tibetan-looking Tibet a) sells better and b) showcases the Party State's efforts to "safeguard traditional Tibetan culture". The spa-cum-power-station at Yangpachen is a visual reminder of times when "heritage" was not yet a dominant idea.
I like Yangpachen precisely for its rough socialist charm. No attempts are made to conceal the ugliness of the power plant. On the contrary, spa and power generation are presented as part of the same modernist tale of socialist development: harnessing Tibet's wild natural resources for the benefit of civilised society.
I visited Yangpachen twice in October and November 2007. Construction work was going on. I wonder how the place looks now.
Follow
Privacy Policy
Plain and simple: I take the principle of minimal data collection serious and try hard not to collect or process any personal data beyond the basics required to serve and maintain the website.
Specifically,
- We do not use cookies.
- We do not use third party analytics.
- There is no contact form that would allow you to enter personal data.
- We do not use advertising to run this website.
In order to serve this website, your IP address and information about your browser, operating system and screen resolution need to be collected and processed. theotherimage.com is a simple, handcrafted, static website hosted by Netlify. It uses fonts by Adobe Fonts (formerly Typekit). Both Netlify and Adobe automatically collect usage data, either generated by the use of this website or from the service infrastructure itself. This data is used for accounting and analytic purposes as well as for technical maintenance by these two companies. Neither Netlify nor Adobe use cookies to track you. Specifics can be found in their respective privacy policies.
The videos on this website are hosted by Vimeo. Depending on your browser configuration, Vimeo may use cookies and other tracking technologies as stated in their respective privacy policies.
If you have any questions about this privacy policy, please write to: Martin Saxer, LMU Munich, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Oettingenstr. 67, 80538 Munich, Germany.
This privacy policy has been updated on 30 December 2018.