Legend in Ranwu lake

Ranwu in Tibetan means the place where dead bodies pile up. It is said that once upon a time a water buffalo and a scalper lived respectively in the lake and on the lake bank. They were hostile to each other and often fought together. Eventually they died one day in a fierce fighting and soon became two mountains near the lake. This tale has no scientific ground with regards to the formation of the Ranwu Lake though; modern geographical research does suggest that its formation is linked with the collision of three “bulls”, i.e. Himalaya, Nianqing Tanggula and Handuan Mountain Range. Ranwu Lake

Another legend is about monkeys. Long long ago, on a mountain between Ranwu and Kangsha there lived a group of very mischievous monkeys who often mocked and disturbed the local farmers. They attacked and harassed the farmers in the evening and did not fear them at all. To cure this headache, the farmers came up with a trick. All the men went out and drank wine on the hillside. After drinking a lot, seemingly being annoyed among one another, they started a fighting with wooden swords and knives. In the fake duel the men fell dead one after another, and the monkeys observed all these. In the midnight the farmers quietly returned to the village and left plenty of wines, real sharp swords and knives. After all the men had gone, the monkeys came down from the trees and picked up the wines and swords that remained. This time the duel was not a false one. Stimulated by the alcohol, the monkeys soon burst into genuine battle and they also got killed one after another. In the end only one monkey survived and was very lonely and sad. He desperately committed suicide by bumping his head on the rock. The farmers won the war against the monkey and called the mountain “monkey bumping his head mountain” since then. These entertaining folk tales add to the appeals of the pretty scenery.

 

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