Video of Chinese Tourists at Pangong Lake Is Not from Indian Territory

A video clip of Chinese tourists seemingly enjoying the boat ride at Pangong Tso is doing rounds on social media. Opinions are divided about the real location of this video. Some believe it is from the Indian side while others debated that the video is from the Chinese territory.

Fact Crescendo set out to geo-locate the video upon requests from users who sent it on our WhatsApp Chatbot helpline 9049053770. 

What’s the Claim?

National Convener of Congress party Saral Patel shared the video on Twitter claiming:  “Chinese tourists at Panging Tso” with an angry emoji. 

Archive

In this 40-second video clip, a bunch of Chinese tourists seem to be on a boat on a lake which looks very similar to Pangong Lake. The man who recorded the video can also be heard saying something in Chinese. 

FACT-CHECK

Pangong Lake is the world’s highest saltwater lake, which is situated at a height of almost 4350 meters from the sea-level. 

The Line of Actual Control (LAC) passes through the Pangong Lake, which effectively divides it into two parts. India controls the 45 km-long western portions of the 135 km-long lake and the rest is under China’s control.

Google Map

Hence, it is important to locate the video to know from which side it has been shot.

According to recent news, China has opened the Pangong Lake to domestic and international tourists. 

It prompted us to explore various possible locations and places around the Chinese side of the lake that can be tourist destinations.

Using Google Earth, we came across a place called Bangong Lake. The Pangong Lake is called Bangong in China. 

It is situated in Rutog County of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, China. China National Highway 219 passes by this scenic lake. 

Google Earth

You can see amenities like boats, resorts, and restaurants that you usually find at a tourist destination. 

How can we confirm the video is from here?

Google Maps gives you photos from any particular location. Taking advantage of this tool, we found a few images from the Bangong Lake, China.

Google Map Images

In the video, we can clearly see the tourists are on the top of a boat.  After a close inspection of the video, we gather some points of identification:

• Orange Lifebuoy Ring – (Image 1)
• Blue Chairs – (Image 1)
• White Table in the middle – (Image 2)
• A big White structure at the one end – (Image 3 and Image 4)

An image available on Google Map of the boat at Bangong Lake has all the similarities with the boat in the viral video. 

In an image given below, you can clearly notice the orange lifebuoy ring, blue chairs, white table, and the white structure at the back of the boat.

Google Maps Image

There are various images of this boat available here and here.

You can also see the same boat in the videos taken at this spot here and here.

A journalist working for China state-affiliated media has also tweeted a video from this place. You can see the same boat at the bank of Pangong Lake in this video.

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In the video, tourists can be seen feeding the birds. We found similar images of the birds on Bangong Lake. 

Getty Images has many photos and videos Black-headed gull birds of Bangong Lake, China.

Embed from Getty Images

Image Source: Getty Images

CONCLUSION

All these similarities indicates that the viral video of Chinese tourists at Pangong Lake is from the Chinese Territory. It is not from the Indian side of Pangong Lake.