While China suffered its worst floods in a century (TIME, Aug. 16), its satellite, Tibet, was suffering too. At the monastic trade center of Shigatse (pop. 20,000), second-biggest city in Tibet, midsummer torrents had turned the Nyang Chu River into a foaming cataract. Lake Takri Tsoma overflowed and a wall of water swept into Shigatse (altitude: 12,800 ft.). flooding shrines and drowning sacred statues. The flood undermined the ancient Palace of the Western Paradise, official residence of the 16-year-old Panchen Lama, whom 3,000,000 Tibetans accept as a spiritual reincarnation of the Buddha of Boundless Light. Reports reaching West Bengal last...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
