Nagqu 那曲市 ནག་ཆུ་གྲོང་ཁྱེར། Nagchu | |
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.jpg) Rural Nagqu | |
.png) Location of Nagchu Prefecture within China | |
| Coordinates (Nagqu municipal government):31°28′34″N92°03′04″E / 31.476°N 92.051°E /31.476; 92.051 | |
| Country | China |
| Autonomous region | Tibet |
| County-level divisions | a district and 10 counties |
| City seat | Seni District |
| Area | |
• Total | 450,537 km2 (173,953 sq mi) |
| Population (2010)[1] | |
• Total | 462,381 |
| • Density | 1.02629/km2 (2.65808/sq mi) |
| GDP | |
| • Total | CN¥ 9.5 billion US$ 1.5 billion |
| • Per capita | CN¥ 19,508 US$ 3,132 |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (China Standard) |
| ISO 3166 code | CN-XZ-06 |
| Website | www |
| Nagqu | |||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||
| Chinese | 那曲 | ||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | Nàqū | ||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||
| Chinese | 黑河 | ||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | Hēihé | ||||||
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| Tibetan name | |||||||
| Tibetan | ནག་ཆུ། | ||||||
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Nagqu (alsoNaqu,Nakchu, orNagchu;Tibetan:ནག་ཆུ།,Wylie:Nag-chu,ZWPY:Nagqu;Chinese:那曲;lit. 'black river') is aprefecture-level city in the north of theChinese autonomous region ofTibet. On May 7, 2018, the former Nagqu Prefecture was officially declared the sixth prefecture-level city in Tibet afterLhasa,Shigatse,Chamdo,Nyingchi andShannan. The regional area, covering an area of 450,537 km2 (173,953 sq mi), is bordered byBayingolin andHotan Prefectures ofXinjiang to the north,Haixi,Yushu Prefectures ofQinghai andChamdo to the east,Nyingchi,Lhasa andShigatse to the south,Ngari Prefecture to the west. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 462,381.[1] Since its official establishment in 2018, it is the largest prefecture-level city by area in the world,[2] being slightly larger thanSweden. According to the population sampling survey, the resident population of the city by the end of 2024 will be 514,300.[3]
Nagqu contains 89 townships, 25 towns, and 1,283 villages. Themain city of Nagqu is along theChina National Highway 109, 330 kilometres (210 mi) northeast ofLhasa.Amdo,Nyainrong andXainza are other towns of note. Extremely rich in water resources, with 81% of Tibet's lakes, covering a total area of over 30,000 square kilometres (12,000 sq mi), it contains lakes such asNamtso,Siling Lake and rivers such asDangqu.
Every August (the sixth month in theTibetan calendar), Nagqu hosts the Kyagqen Horse Race, a major event locally attracting tens of thousands of herdsmen to participate in horseracing and archery contests.
Nagqu was once known as "Heihe" (Chinese:黑河) which comes from that the Tibetan word meansblack river. It was named after Nagqu River which is the upper master stream of theNu River running through the territory. In theMing andQing Dynasties, it was known as "Hala Wusu" (transliteration of the "Black River" in Mongolian). In modern times, Nagqu (the area aroundNagqu Town) is called "Wu'erguxiong" (吾尔古雄) or "Seruxiangba" (色如襄巴).[1]
Nagqu appeared clearly in the earliest historical materials, it was part of the ancientZhangzhung and it was calledYangtong (羊同) in Chinese historical records. In Tibetan historical records, the place was called "Zhuodai" (卓岱), meaning "nomadic tribe", and the inhabitants here were called "Zhuoba" (卓巴), meaning "nomads"; or "Qiangba" (羌巴), meaning "northerner"; or "Changri", it means the northern tribe. In the era of the ascendancy of Zhangzhung, as its inhabitants divided their territory into the inner, outer and middle three parts. The modern Nagqu roughly is the territories of middle Zhangzhung and outer Zhangzhung. The dzong architecture of Dangnuoqiong was the center of middle Zhangzhung, it was located round the lake ofTangra Yumco in the southwest of Nagqu. As the Zhangzhung Regime was weakened, its territory shrank to the west.[citation needed]
The earliest mosque was built in the 14th century.[4] During theSong dynasty, Nagqu was called one of theFour Northern Tribes (北方四部落). In 1269, the Mongolian soldiers began to garrison in the northern Tibet, and later the "39 Tribes of Hor" (Standard Tibetan:ཧོར,romanized: hor,Chinese:霍尔) formed Mongolian forces in northern Tibet. In 1731, theQing Government placed the territory of 39 Tribes under the direct jurisdiction of theAmban.
In 1751, Kanxiang Dzong (坎襄宗) in Nagqu was formed to the direct rule of theKashag Government, and part of the area was under the jurisdiction ofPanchen. Around theXinhai Revolution, the government of the Kashag Government relegated the region of 39 Tribes to its rule and forcibly took over the Panchen Lama. In 1916, the "Hor Director" (霍尔总管) was established. In 1942, the prefecture of Changchub Chikyab (Standard Tibetan:བྱང་ཆུབ་སྤྱི་ཁྱབ་,romanized: byang chub spyi khyab, Chinese:绛曲基巧) was formed.
In 1951, the seat of Changchub Chikyab Prefecture was Nagqu (Heihe) Town, the prefecture administered the pasture land to the northernLhasa and 6dzongs in Heihe area, theConference Hall of Panchen Chamber (班禅堪布会议厅) administered Damusajia Dzong (达木萨迦宗). The prefecture of Changchub Chikyab had jurisdiction over 14 dzongs in 1954.
The Preparatory Committee ofTibet Autonomous Region set upChikyab Office (基巧办事处) in Nagqu in October 1956, The prefecture of Changchub Chikyab was renamed to Heihe in 1959, the prefecture of Heihe was renamed to Nagqu in January 1960, its seat was Heihe County (modernSeni District).[1]
The former Nagqu Prefecture was approved for prefecture-level city status on October 2, 2017, by theState Council,[5] and it was officially established on May 7, 2018.[6]
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Nagqu is located in the northeast of Tibet.Nagqu Town is 330 kilometres (210 mi) by theChina National Highway 109 northeast ofLhasa.[7] Nagqu is bordered byBayingolin andHotan Prefectures ofXinjiang to the north,Haixi,Yushu Prefectures ofQinghai andChamdo to the east,Nyingchi,Lhasa andShigatse to the south, andNgari Prefecture to the west. It covers an area of 450,537 km2 (173,953 sq mi).[1]) It lies on the southern slope ofTanggula Mountains,[8] on the north side ofNyenchen Tanglha Mountains, and on the eastern end of theChangtang Plateau. The average altitude is more than 4,500 meters (14,800 ft) above sea level.[9] Principal towns in the region include Nagqu Town,Amdo,Nyainrong andXainza.[7]
Nagqu is extremely rich in water resources, with a total surface water resources of about 54 cubic kilometres (13 cu mi), groundwater resources of about 25.1 cubic kilometres (6.0 cu mi) and a further 8.8 cubic kilometres (2.1 cu mi) in glacial ice storage. The region contains 81% of Tibet's lakes, covering a total area of over 30,000 square kilometres (12,000 sq mi). There are 11 lakes with an area of over 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi) and 121 lakes with an area of more than 5 square kilometres (1.9 sq mi). Notable lakes includeNamtso, spanning Nagqu'sBaingoin County and neighboringLhasa prefecture-level city'sDamxung County with a surface area of 1,920 km2 (740 sq mi), andSiling Lake (Qilin) spanning Baingoin andXainza counties, which at 1,865 square kilometres (720 sq mi) is the second largest saltwater lake in the northern Tibetan Plateau.Dorsoidong Co andChibzhang Co, over 300 kilometres (190 mi) northwest of Nagqu Town[7] covered a lake area of 1,012 square kilometres (391 sq mi) as of 2018.[10] The principal rivers of Nagqu are theDangqu,Zhajia Zangbo,Jiagang Zangbu,Suoqu,Xiaqu,Benqu,Ba Qingqu, andYiqu with hundreds more throughout the region.[citation needed]Purugangri Glacier is located about 560 kilometres (350 mi) from Nagqu town within Qiangtang Nature Reserve, at 6,000 to 6,800 metres above sea level. Covering an area of 423 square kilometres (163 sq mi), it has been confirmed to be the world's third largest.[11]
Nagqu is a natural disaster-prone region, being affected bymonsoon climate,plate geology movements, plus complex terrain and other disaster-causing factors.[citation needed] The annual average temperature is −2.1 °C (28.2 °F), while the coldest temperatures can reach −40 °C (−40 °F). Overall it classifies as a dry-wintersubalpine climate (Dwc) bordering on acool semi-arid climate (BSk), with comfortable, humid summers and long, frigid, dry, windy winters. The differences between day and night are severe. It is not uncommon to have nights with temperatures below freezing after days with temperatures of 25 °C (77 °F) or days with temperatures above freezing in winter after night temperatures of −25 °C (−13 °F). Annual sunshine totals more than 2,886 hours. Nagqu town had an average annual rainfall of 477.1 mm (18.78 in) between 1956 and 2010.[9] The southeastern part of the prefecture is wetter, with annual precipitation exceeding 580 mm (23 in). while the northwestern part is driest with an average annual precipitation below 440 mm (17 in).[citation needed] The effects of global warming increasingly pose a problem in the region, with record highs in 2019.[10][12]
| Climate data for Nagqu (Seni District), elevation 4,507 m (14,787 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1954–present) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 11.0 (51.8) | 12.3 (54.1) | 16.1 (61.0) | 19.4 (66.9) | 21.3 (70.3) | 24.2 (75.6) | 24.1 (75.4) | 22.0 (71.6) | 22.2 (72.0) | 18.1 (64.6) | 12.8 (55.0) | 11.8 (53.2) | 24.2 (75.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −2.4 (27.7) | −0.1 (31.8) | 3.4 (38.1) | 7.4 (45.3) | 11.5 (52.7) | 15.3 (59.5) | 16.3 (61.3) | 16.2 (61.2) | 13.8 (56.8) | 8.3 (46.9) | 2.7 (36.9) | −0.4 (31.3) | 7.7 (45.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −11.3 (11.7) | −8.5 (16.7) | −4.5 (23.9) | −0.2 (31.6) | 4.2 (39.6) | 8.4 (47.1) | 10.0 (50.0) | 9.5 (49.1) | 6.7 (44.1) | 0.8 (33.4) | −6.0 (21.2) | −9.9 (14.2) | −0.1 (31.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −19.1 (−2.4) | −16.3 (2.7) | −11.9 (10.6) | −7.1 (19.2) | −2.0 (28.4) | 2.9 (37.2) | 5.0 (41.0) | 4.6 (40.3) | 1.7 (35.1) | −4.9 (23.2) | −12.7 (9.1) | −17.8 (0.0) | −6.5 (20.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −41.2 (−42.2) | −34.5 (−30.1) | −27.3 (−17.1) | −22.1 (−7.8) | −15.9 (3.4) | −8.8 (16.2) | −6.8 (19.8) | −6.1 (21.0) | −12.4 (9.7) | −23.6 (−10.5) | −31.7 (−25.1) | −35.3 (−31.5) | −41.2 (−42.2) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 5.2 (0.20) | 3.2 (0.13) | 7.5 (0.30) | 11.9 (0.47) | 40.9 (1.61) | 90.2 (3.55) | 111.0 (4.37) | 100.9 (3.97) | 71.7 (2.82) | 22.0 (0.87) | 3.5 (0.14) | 2.0 (0.08) | 470 (18.51) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 4.2 | 3.4 | 4.8 | 7.2 | 14.9 | 20.6 | 20.9 | 19.9 | 18.8 | 8.1 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 127.8 |
| Average snowy days | 5.9 | 6.4 | 8.6 | 12.6 | 18.8 | 6.7 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 6.1 | 11.8 | 5.1 | 3.7 | 86.7 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 41 | 36 | 37 | 45 | 55 | 63 | 67 | 67 | 68 | 56 | 47 | 40 | 52 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 213.7 | 198.7 | 222.6 | 221.0 | 238.0 | 216.6 | 208.0 | 205.5 | 209.5 | 243.6 | 240.4 | 232.9 | 2,650.5 |
| Percentagepossible sunshine | 66 | 63 | 59 | 57 | 56 | 51 | 48 | 51 | 57 | 70 | 77 | 75 | 61 |
| Source 1:China Meteorological Administration[13][14] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Weather China[15] extremes[16] | |||||||||||||
The Naqu City People's Government administrative headquarters is located at No. 3, Zhejiang West Road in the main town. It has 89 townships, 25 towns, and 1283 villages under its jurisdiction.[citation needed]
| Map | ||||||||
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| Name | Simplified Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Tibetan | Wylie | Population(2010 census) | Area (km2) | Density (/km2) | |
| Seni District | 色尼区 | Sèní Qū | གསེར་རྙེད་ཆུས། | gser rnyed chus | 108,781 | 16,195 | 6.71 | |
| Lhari County | 嘉黎县 | Jiālí Xiàn | ལྷ་རི་རྫོང་། | lha ri rdzong | 32,356 | 13,056 | 2.47 | |
| Biru County | 比如县 | Bǐrú Xiàn | འབྲི་རུ་རྫོང་། | 'bri ru rdzong | 60,179 | 11,680 | 5.15 | |
| Nyainrong County | 聂荣县 | Nièróng Xiàn | གཉན་རོང་རྫོང་། | gnyan rong rdzong | 32,376 | 9,017 | 3.59 | |
| Amdo County | 安多县 | Ānduō Xiàn | ཨ་མདོ་རྫོང་། | a mdo rdzong | 37,802 | 43,411 | 0.87 | |
| Xainza County | 申扎县 | Shēnzhā Xiàn | ཤན་རྩ་རྫོང་། | shan rtsa rdzong | 20,285 | 25,546 | 0.79 | |
| Sog County | 索县 | Suǒ Xiàn | སོག་རྫོང་། | sog rdzong | 43,621 | 5,744 | 7.59 | |
| Baingoin County | 班戈县 | Bāngē Xiàn | དཔལ་མགོན་རྫོང་། | dpal mgon rdzong | 36,842 | 28,383 | 1.29 | |
| Baqên County | 巴青县 | Bāqīng Xiàn | སྦྲ་ཆེན་རྫོང་། | sbra chen rdzong | 48,284 | 10,326 | 4.67 | |
| Nyima County | 尼玛县 | Nímǎ Xiàn | ཉི་མ་རྫོང་། | nyi ma rdzong | 29,856 | 72,499 | 0.41 | |
| Shuanghu County | 双湖县 | Shuānghú Xiàn | མཚོ་གཉིས་་རྫོང་། | mtsho gnyis rdzong | 11,999 | 116,637 | 0.10 | |
By 2009, 55 different minerals had been discovered in the region, with the largest mineral reserves beingiron,chromium,gold,antimony,lead,zinc,copper,boron,lithium,rock salt andgypsum. There are significant reserves ofoil,natural gas,oil shale and others, though Nagqu had long been severely backwards in energy production and usage to the point that at one stage only Nagqu Town had a 2 MW diesel power plant.[citation needed] Geothermal energy production began investigation in 1984.[17] Nagqu geothermal field lies 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) away from Nagqu Town, and covers an area of 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi).[18]Jiagang Hydropower Station in Xainza County was built in the 1990s and as of 2008 serves about 20,000 nomadic households across the county.[19][20] In June 2019,Jinqiao Hydropower Station, the first hydropower station to be built with a rock-fill concrete gravity dam in Tibet, was inaugurated in Lhari County, serving some 30,000 local farmers and herdsmen in an area previously without electricity. The station and dam reportedly cost 1.4 billion yuan (about 202.7 million U.S. dollars) and has an annual power generation capacity of 357 million kilowatt-hours.[21]
With Nagqu being one of China's five biggest pastures, and possibly the highest in the world at 4,500 metres (14,800 ft) above sea level,[22] most counties rely on animal husbandry, and few counties are semi-agricultural and semi-animal husbandry areas.[9] As of 2017, theregional GDP in Nagqu was 11,982 millionyuan (1,775 millionUS dollars), completed fixed assets investment 18,549 million yuan (2,747 million US dollars), urban and rural residents per capita disposable income reached 31,252 yuan (4,629 US dollars), 9,792 yuan (1,450 US dollars), total retail sales of social consumer goods 2,127 million yuan (315 million US dollars), tax revenue exceeded 1,000 million yuan (148 million US dollars).[23] Agriculture and animal husbandry accounted for 1.923 billion yuan. By 2015, the manufacturing industry was expected to be valued at 1.852 billion yuan, an increase of 23.4%. Production of medicines and Tibetan carpets have significantly increased in recent times. As of 2015 there were 5 scientific research institutions and 11 agricultural and animal husbandry science and technology-related institutions, employing 5,856 professional and technical personnel.[citation needed]
Nagqu contains a number of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries.Shodain Monastery (also known as "Shodain Yarba" or "Shadain"), with around 350 lamas, is one of the most significant, and is governed bySera Monastery in Lhasa. The monastery was established in 1884 and originally belonged to theNyingma sect before the Geru sect. The13th Dalai Lama lived at the monastery for over a month in 1908 during his return journey from Beijing. He inaugurated the Grand Summons Ceremony to be held annually on January 4 in the Tibetan calendar. The Changmo dance, also known as Je Changmo or Jusong Changmo Qin (Changmo means dance or hop, is common practice at Shodain during August. The middle roof of the monastery contains a golden law wheel surrounded by two golden sheep, alikened to that ofJokhang Monastery in Lhasa.Tsanden Monastery (also Zanden or Sanden) inSog County was built in 1668 under the orders ofDrepung Monastery. It covers an area of 25,975 square meters and with its white palace and red palace resembles thePotala Palace from a distance. The monastery contains numerous statues of Buddhas, murals, scriptures and works of art.[24] Badan Bonner temple, founded by Shichong Garmahan is in the village of Sechang Village in Sog County, and contains an oratory and traditional Tibetan bleaching room.[25] Zhajun Monastery in the southeast of Baingoin County contains a scripture hall, Buddha hall and Sengshe and is dedicated primarily toShakyamuni.[26]
Every August (June in the Tibetan calendar), Nagqu hosts the Kyagqen Horse Race, a major event locally,[27] attracting tens of thousands of herdsmen who arrive in Nagqu on their horses and with goods. They set up camp in tents in the southern part of the main town and participate in horse racing, horsemanship and archery contests on August 10.[28] Hats, mostly made from lamb skins and artificial leather and an "antenna-like stripe of fabric at the top" are worn by women during the festival.[29]
In Baingoin County, the Qiduo Cave Paintings are significant, with one cave containing over 200 images of animals, characters and symbols.[30]
Nagqu contains a high biodiversity of wildlife. There arewild goats,stone sheep,scorpions,donkeys,bears,foxes,wolves, and birds such asTibetan finch,brown-backed crow,pheasant,vulture, wildducks,swans,black-necked cranes, andred-crowned cranes. As of 2018 seven wildlife sanctuaries have been established in Nagqu.[citation needed] The 400,000 hectare Siling Co National Nature Reserve (also Selincuo Reserve or Xainza Nature Reserve) around Siling Lake was established in 1993 and contains significant populations ofblack-necked cranes and some 120 species of birds in total.[31][32] The Yalong Scenic Area, covering an area of 1,580 square kilometres (610 sq mi) was established in 1988 and is located in the middle reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River in the vicinity ofZedang Town.[citation needed]
Fritillaria grow on alpine bushes and alpine meadows at an altitude of 4000–5000 meters, and is valued in Chinese herbal medicine for its ability to loosen mucus on the lungs and cure pulmonary-related ailments.Cordyceps sinensis is also valued for its effect on the lungs and kidneys,[citation needed] and is eaten as a delicacy in soups in restaurants in countries such as Singapore.[33]Snow Lotus andMusk, known for its central nervous system stimulating effect, are also grown.[citation needed] Due to the region being too cold for trees to grow, the Chinese government are considering using solar power to introduce new forested areas to Nagqu, though it is not believed to be economically sustainable.[citation needed]
In 2015, 129 transportation projects were constructed, with a projected investment of 6.29 billion yuan, though only 2.422 billion yuan was completed.[citation needed]Nagqu Dagring Airport will be the world's highest altitude airport once constructed at 4,436 m (14,554 ft) above sea level.[34] Main lines of communication includes theQinghai-Tibet Railway, theG 109 National Highway, the Nagqu–Chamdo (那曲-昌都公路), and the Nagqu–Shiquanhe (那曲-狮泉河公路) highways.[9]
