Shannan, Tibet
Shannan, also known as Lhoka, is a prefecture-level city in the southeastern Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Shannan includes Gonggar County within its jurisdiction with Gongkar Chö Monastery, Gonggar Dzong, and Gonggar Airport all located near Gonggar town.
Located on the middle and lower reaches of the Yarlung Valley, formed by the Yarlung Tsangpo River, Lhoka region is often regarded as the birthplace of Tibetan civilization. It is bounded by the city of Lhasa to the north, Nyingchi to the east, Shigatse on the west and the international border with India and Bhutan on the south. The city measures east to west and from north to south. Its uniqueness stems from the fact that Tibet's earliest agricultural farmland, its first palace and first Buddhist monastery are all located in Lhoka. It also has the distinction of having held the first lhamo performance. Ethnic Tibetans constitute 98% of the population, the remaining 2% being Han, Hui, Mönpa, Lhoba and other ethnic groups.
Shannan has 1 district and 11 counties and its capital is Tsetang, which is located 183 kilometres from Lhasa. It covers an area of, which includes part of South Tibet, a disputed territory currently under control of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh; the disputed parts include Itanagar, the state capital of Arunachal Pradesh. Its topography averages above sea level. The population of Tsetang city was 330,100 as of 2007 with Tibetans accounting for 96% of the total population. The resident population of Shannan increased by 25,045 or 7.61% from 328,990 in the 2010 Sixth National Census to 354,035, with an average annual growth rate of 0.74%, in 2020. By the end of 2024, the city's resident population will be 357,500.
The Lhoka region has not only an ancient historical background but is also the most prosperous in Tibet.
History
A legend that attests to the position of Lhoka region in the annals of Tibetan history states that human beings are the creation of a union between a sacred monkey and women. According to archaeological findings and legends and ancient documents, people lived in this area up to four million years ago. A primitive civilization grew up in the Yarlung Valley and a field in the village of Sare near Tsetang Town, is said to be the first farming field in Tibet. The first king in Tibetan history, Nyatri Tsenpo, really a mere chief of the Yarlong tribe, began ruling over the Yarlung valley in the beginning of second century BC. He founded the Fan Kingdom and established a hereditary monarchy. During the reign of the ninth king, Budegong, agriculture flourished and he was able to mobilize the people to excavate canal, channelling water to irrigate the flatland. A formal forming system came into existence during the reign of Yixiulie, the eleventh king, when he devised standard measurement units for allocating farmland and counting livestock. Six palaces were built in the region between the rule of the ninth and fifteenth kings.Around the 6th century AD, the Yarlung Valley became a society which smelted a variety of materials including iron, copper and silver to produce weapons and other objects. The 31st king of Yarlung, Namri Songtsen, was an expansionist and invaded neighbouring tribes, expanding the territory of Yarlung. The 33rd king, Songtsän Gampo, conquered Subi tribe, Yangtong tribe and many others and established the Tibetan Empire. Although transferred his capital city from Qiongjie to Lhasa, many of his descendant of the royal lineage still lived in the Lhoka region. He made Yungbulakang Palace his summer palace, which by this time was an important centre for Buddhism and the storage of Buddhist scriptures. In 641 AD, Gampo married Princess Wencheng of the Tang dynasty.
During the Tibetan Empire, a great number of irrigation projects developed along the Yarlong River and the Yarlung Tsangpo River, and with the increase of yaks and horses here there was dramatic development in agriculture. However, continued conflict led to endless famine and eventually the collapse of the Tubo regime. In 1253, Möngke Khan, the emperor of the Yuan dynasty, invaded Tibet and united the squabbling tribes into an administrative region, controlled by the central government of the Yuan dynasty in Beijing. However, the dominant tribe in the Yarlung valley during this period was the Pazhu dynasty and in 1322, Qiangqujianqun became the leader of the Pazhu and replenished agricultural activity in the region, funding irrigation works, cultivating lands, reconstructing roads, restoring houses and developing husbandry. Qiangqujiangqun founded the Naidong dynasty which would last for 262 years, introduced the system of feudal serfdom and implemented a new government system with divisions known as Zong, established 13 of them in Nêdong, Gonggar and so forth.
On May 23, 1951, a Tibetan delegation signed the Seventeen Point Agreement with the central government of the People's Republic of China for the "peaceful liberation of Tibet". However, in 1959, the Lhoka was annexed to China by brute force. Many monasteries were destroyed during the invasion and the Yungbulakang Palace was severely damaged.
Geography
Lhoka region forms one-fifteenth of the total area of the Tibet Autonomous Region. It comprises 12 counties, out of which the eight northern counties are the Nedong, Qusum, Qonggyai, Sangri, Comai, Zhanang, Gyacha and Cona in the middle valley of the Yarlung Zangbo, and the remaining four namely, the Gonggar, Lhunzi, Lohozhag and Nagarze are in the Himalayan belt. The Cona, Lhongzi, Nanggarze and Lhozha counties form the International Border. The city's district and counties have 144 townships of which 71 townships are in agricultural sector, 18 are in animal husbandry sector and the balance 55 are a mix of the two sectors. There are also five neighbourhood committees and 719 village committees. The wide Yarlung River flowing from west to east also known as Tsongpo and the Brahmaputra River in India and Jamuna in Bangladesh, and its tributaries flows through the middle and lower stretches of the city and is bounded by Lhasa on the north, Nyingchi on the east, Shigatse to the west and international border that extends to with India and Bhutan. The river system has provided large perennial source of water in the region of fertile land. The valley created by the river system has very green pasture land and thick forests.The region is studded with hills, valleys, rivers, streams, lakes, hot springs, limestone caves and many natural scenic regions. The region is also credited with the first "cultivated lands, measured fields, water irrigation, storing the forage grass, moulding metal, and many other techniques".
The natural scenic regions of the city have been categorized under four types. The Yarlung State Scenic Region is one type which has the snow-covered mountains, glaciers, pastures, river valley, alpine vegetation and historical monuments and folk customs and art forms.
Hydrology
This river area is spread over parts of eight counties of Shannan. Yamzog Yumcog Scenic Region which has lakes, snow-covered mountains, islands, pasture land, hot springs, monasteries and many scenic places, Samyai Scenic Region which has many historical monuments in the counties of Samyi, Songa and Azar towns in the Zanang County and Sacred Lake Scenic Region which is covered by the Sangri, Qusum and Gyacha Counties, are part of this valley. The region has mountains, valleys, rivers, springs, historical architectural monuments and monasteries.The city has rich water resources of the Yarlung Zangbo or Tsongpo as it is known in the short form. It is the mother river of Tibet. In addition, 41 other rivers flow through Lhoka. The river flowing from west to east has a river area of and flows for through seven counties namely, Nanggarze, Gonggar, Chahang, Nedong, Sangri, Qusum and Gyacha. In addition, there are 88 lakes of which the important ones are the Yamdrok Lake, the Chigu Lake and the Purmo Yumco lake. The hydroelectric power potential of the river system of Shannan has been assessed at 35.1 million kW. However, the power generated at present is only 18,300 kW.
Divine lakes
Yamdrok Yumtso Lake
, appears like jasper in a dark blue colour and it is one of the four holy lakes in Tibet. Viewed from the top of the Gampala Pass, the lake appears in the shape of a scorpion. It is located in Nhagartse County on the way to Gyantse and is from Tsedang Yumtso. It is situated at an altitude of and has a very large area of, with a shoreline of. The average depth of water in the lake is about with deepest depth reported to be. There are many Tibetan fish species in the lake. Aqua fauna noted in the lake have been listed as wild duck, goose and many other species.Yamdrok Lake, also known as Yamḍok Yumtso, is one of the three largest sacred lakes in Tibet and is over long with an area of. The lake is fan-shaped, spreading to the south but narrowing up to the north. The mountainous lakeshore is highly crenellated, with numerous bays and inlets. Lake Yamdrok freezes in winter. Like mountains, lakes are considered sacred by Tibetan people, the principle being that they are the dwelling places of protective deities and therefore invested with special spiritual powers. It is the largest lake in southern Tibet and home to the famous Samding Monastery which is on a peninsula jutting into the lake. Samding Monastery is where Dorje Phagmo, one of the few important female lamas in Tibet, stayed and presided, and stands to the south of Lake Yamdrok Yumtso.
The Yamdrok Hydropower Station was completed and dedicated in 1996 near the small village of Pai-Ti at the lake's western end. This power station is the largest in Tibet.