Tsetang རྩེ་ཐང་གྲོང་རྡལ། ·泽当镇 | |
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| Zêtang Chongdä | |
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  Tsetang | |
| Coordinates:29°15′N91°46′E / 29.250°N 91.767°E /29.250; 91.767 | |
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| Province | Tibet Autonomous Region |
| Prefecture-level city | Shannnan |
| District | Nedong |
| Population (2007) | |
• Total | approximately 15,200 |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (CST) |
| Tsetang | |||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 泽当 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 澤當 | ||||||
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| Tibetan name | |||||||
| Tibetan | རྩེ་ཐང། | ||||||
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Tsetang (Tibetan:རྩེད་ཐང,Wylie:rtsed thang,THL:tsé tang)[1][a] orZedang (Chinese:泽当镇;pinyin:Zé dāng zhèn),[1][b] is the fourth largest city in Tibet and is located in theYarlung Valley, 183 km (114 mi) southeast ofLhasa inNedong District of theShannan Prefecture in theTibet region ofChina. It is the capital of Shannan Prefecture (which is also referred to as "Shannan City").[2]
Tsetang has been the capital of the Yarlung region since antiquity and was the seat of theancient emperors of Tibet and, as such, a place of great importance. In the 19th century, it is said to have comprised some 1,000 houses, a bazaar, agompa and a fort.[3]
As the capital of Shannan, it is the second-largest settlement in the historicalÜ-Tsang region. It lies at an elevation of 3,100 m (10,200 ft) above sea level and has a population of approximately 52,000 persons.[4] It is only about 4 km (2.5 mi) to the northeast of the town ofNedong and they have now essentially merged into one city.[5]
Tsetang is situated near the flank ofMount Gongbori (3,400 m (11,200 ft)) where many ancient ruins (such as ruins ofGajiu Monastery) are located. It is known as the cradle of Tibetan's civilization.Samye, Tibet's first monastery, is located only 30 km (19 mi) from Tsetang and was founded in 779 CE byKing Trisong Detsen.
The 14th century monastery of Tsetang, Ganden Chökhorling, was originallyKagyupa but was taken over by the Gelugpas in the 18th century. It was destroyed during theCultural Revolution in the 1960s but has been restored since. Ngamchö is also aGelugpa monastery and contains the bed and throne of the Dalai Lama and has a chapel devoted to medicine. The Samten Ling and Drebuling monasteries of theSakyas still remained in 1959 but have since been destroyed and mostly built over. There is, however, the reconstructed Gelugpa Sang-ngag Zimche Nunnery, in the ruins of Samten Ling with a 1000-armed statue ofChenresig (Avalokiteshvara) said to have been made by EmperorSongtsen Gampo (605 or 617? - 649 CE).[6]
The town supposedly dates back to the founding of the Tsetang Gompa in 1351 which became an important centre of learning.[7]
One of three caves in the mountainside to the east of the town is said to be the birthplace of the Tibetan people who resulted from the mating of a monkey and a beautiful cannibalogress.
About 5 km (3.1 mi) south of Tsetang isChangzhug Monastery founded during the reign ofSongtsen Gampo and about 10 km (6.2 mi) further isYumbulagang which, according to legend, was built as a palace for the first king,Nyatri Tsenpo, and was the first building in Tibet.
There are several hotels and a guesthouse in Tsetang.[8]
Tsetang has asubtropical highland climate (Köppen climate classificationCwb/BSk). The average annual temperature in Haidian is 9.2 °C (48.6 °F). The average annual rainfall is 384.7 mm (15.15 in) with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in June, at around 16.5 °C (61.7 °F), and lowest in January, at around 0.4 °C (32.7 °F).
| Climate data for Tsetang (1981–2010 normals, extremes 1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 20.5 (68.9) | 20.6 (69.1) | 25.0 (77.0) | 26.5 (79.7) | 28.7 (83.7) | 30.0 (86.0) | 30.3 (86.5) | 28.5 (83.3) | 27.1 (80.8) | 24.5 (76.1) | 22.5 (72.5) | 19.3 (66.7) | 30.3 (86.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 8.9 (48.0) | 10.5 (50.9) | 13.9 (57.0) | 16.8 (62.2) | 20.6 (69.1) | 24.0 (75.2) | 23.4 (74.1) | 22.6 (72.7) | 21.2 (70.2) | 18.2 (64.8) | 13.2 (55.8) | 9.7 (49.5) | 16.9 (62.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 0.4 (32.7) | 2.8 (37.0) | 6.4 (43.5) | 9.2 (48.6) | 13.0 (55.4) | 16.5 (61.7) | 16.4 (61.5) | 15.7 (60.3) | 14.2 (57.6) | 10.2 (50.4) | 4.5 (40.1) | 0.6 (33.1) | 9.2 (48.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −7.3 (18.9) | −4.6 (23.7) | −0.7 (30.7) | 2.5 (36.5) | 6.3 (43.3) | 10.3 (50.5) | 11.3 (52.3) | 10.9 (51.6) | 9.0 (48.2) | 3.5 (38.3) | −2.7 (27.1) | −6.7 (19.9) | 2.7 (36.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −18.2 (−0.8) | −13.3 (8.1) | −10.1 (13.8) | −6.8 (19.8) | −2.6 (27.3) | 0.7 (33.3) | 5.8 (42.4) | 4.5 (40.1) | −0.7 (30.7) | −6.1 (21.0) | −11.2 (11.8) | −14.8 (5.4) | −18.2 (−0.8) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 0.3 (0.01) | 1.1 (0.04) | 5.6 (0.22) | 12.6 (0.50) | 26.7 (1.05) | 48.7 (1.92) | 113.3 (4.46) | 110.8 (4.36) | 56.0 (2.20) | 8.4 (0.33) | 1.0 (0.04) | 0.2 (0.01) | 384.7 (15.14) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 0.5 | 1.2 | 3.1 | 6.4 | 9.3 | 13.5 | 19.9 | 18.6 | 12.4 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 89.2 |
| Average snowy days | 1.4 | 2.6 | 6.3 | 5.2 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 19.5 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 29 | 28 | 31 | 39 | 43 | 49 | 60 | 61 | 58 | 43 | 34 | 32 | 42 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 230.2 | 220.5 | 250.8 | 255.9 | 269.9 | 248.3 | 213.8 | 223.0 | 231.7 | 264.2 | 244.3 | 237.8 | 2,890.4 |
| Percentagepossible sunshine | 71 | 69 | 67 | 66 | 64 | 59 | 50 | 55 | 63 | 75 | 77 | 75 | 66 |
| Source:China Meteorological Administration (precipitation days, snow days, sunshine 1991–2011)[9][10] | |||||||||||||
