Xizang

Lhasa

Lhasa, with a history of 1,300 years, is the capital city of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Located at the north of the Lhasa River, which is a branch of the zigzag Yarlung Zangbo River, Lhasa is 3,650 meters above sea level. Having 7 counties and one district under its jurisdiction, it covers a total area of over 30,000 square kilometers, with an urban area of 523 square kilometers. Lhasa has a total population of 373,000, of which 130,000 live in the city. In Lhasa there are 31 nationalities such as Tibetan, Han and Hui, with Tibetans accounting for 87% of the total population.

As the political, economic, cultural and religious center of Tibet for a long time, Lhasa means "holy land" or the "place of Buddha " in the Tibetan language. The grand Potala Palace is a symbol of the unified supreme authority on politics and religion. As early as the 7th century, after Songtsan Gambo annexed neighboring tribes and unified Tibet, he moved the capital from Yalong to Luozi (today's Lhasa) and established the Tibetan Kingdom. After Tibet was liberated on May 23, 1951, a new chapter opened for Lhasa City. In 1960, Lhasa was approved by the State Council to set up a prefecture-level city and in 1982, and it was proclaimed one of the first batch 24 historical-cultural cities by the State Council.

Situated in the alluvial plain of a valley at 3,650 meters above sea level, Lhasa is one of the highest cities of the world in altitude. Its terrain slopes from east to west; the climate here belongs to the half drought plateau area with monsoons in the Temperate Zone. It is known as the "city of sunlight", for annual sunlight time here totals over 3,000 hours. The annual rainfall is between 200mm and 500mm, and concentrated from June to September, with most cases of night rains. The temperature range is from 14℃ to 28℃, changing greatly from day to day. The air is thin; the weather is dry in winter and spring, with heavy winds; and the annual period without frost is between 100 and 120 days.

Being an old city on the plateau, Lhasa has impressed visitors with blue sky, clean water, fresh air and pleasant environment. Endowed by nature with pure water and air, Lhasa is the least polluted city with the best environment in China.

Shigatse

Shigatse, an ancient city with a history of over 600 years, is interpreted as the Manor of Gratification in Tibetan.

South of the city lies the Tashilhunpo (Zhaxi Lhunpo) Lamasery, one of the four lamaseries of the Galu sect of Lamaism and the residence of the Panchan Lama for long. Southeast of the city is situated the Xialu Lamasery, a cross between Han and Tibetan architecture, built during the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties.

Backing against Nima Mountain, Shigatse, with an average elevation of 3,850 meters, is situated at the converging place of the Yarlung Zangbo River and the Nianchu River.

The city of Shigatse is the second largest city of Tibet, covering a land area of 8.92 square kilometers. With well-laid-out roads and unique architecture, is the birthplace of the Banchen II, the Banchen III, the Banchen IV and the Dalai II.

The city is located in the south of Tibet and the north of the Himalayas. The major terrain is plains, with six mountains with an altitude of more than 5,500 meters. The lowest elevation is 3,800 meters, while the highest is 6,646 meters. It is wet and warm in summer, while dry and cold in winter. There are 3,248 hours of sunshine, 118 days of frost-free period and 120mm precipitation annually.

Shigatse is the major agricultural producer as well as one of the bases of commodity grain in Tibet. Its economy relies on agriculture and animal husbandry.

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