Drongpa County
or Zhongba County
(; ) is a county of
Shigatse Prefecture
Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê (; Nepali Language, Nepali: ''सिगात्से''), is a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Its area of jurisdiction, with an area of , correspon ...
in China's
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions of ...
. Located in the western part of Central Tibet (sometimes referred to as "western Tibet"), it is the birthplace of the
Tsangpo River (Brahmaputra). Zhongba is said to mean "place of
wild yaks" in Tibetan. The county seat is at
Labrang
Labrang Monastery (; Chinese: Lāboléng Sì, 拉卜楞寺) is one of the six great monasteries of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Its formal name is ''Genden Shédrup Dargyé Trashi Gyésu khyilwé Ling'' ().
Labrang is located in Xiah ...
, which is also called the "Drongpa Township".
Geography
Drongpa County is the largest county in the Shigatse Prefecture by geographical area. It has a population of approximately 18,000 and covers 43,594 square kilometers. It is prone to earthquakes and suffered a large one, 6.8 on the
Richter scale, on 30 August 2008. Although the temblor left a north-south crack at the epicenter located at 31° north and 83.6° east, and houses were damaged and roads blocked by falling rocks, there were no reported injuries.
The county is dotted with lakes such as
Taro Tso,
Nganglha Ringtso and
Rinchen Shubtso.
Drongpa County shares the Tibet Autonomous Region's southern border with most of western
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
's
Karnali and
Dhaulagiri
Dhaulagiri is the seventh highest mountain in the world at above sea level, and the highest mountain within the borders of a single country (Nepal). It was first climbed on 13 May 1960 by a Swiss-Austrian-Nepali expedition.
Annapurna I () is ...
Zones
Zone or The Zone may refer to:
Places Climate and altitude zones
* Death zone (originally the lethal zone), altitudes above a certain point where the amount of oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life for an extended time span
* Frigid zone, ...
with a
border crossing
Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...
into
Mustang
The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once- domesticated animals, the ...
District
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...
leading through the former
''Lo Kingdom'' to its historic capital ''
Lo Manthang''.
Administration divisions
Zhongba County is divided into 1 town and 12 townships.
Maps
File:Txu-oclc-10552568-nh44-12.jpg, Map showing "Matsang" and the southern portion bordering Nepal ( AMS, 1954)
File:NH-44-12 Mustang Nepal.jpg, Map showing "Matsang" and the southern portion bordering Nepal ( DMA, 1985)
Transport
China National Highway 219
China National Highway 219 (G219; Chinese: '' Guódào219'') is a highway which runs along the entire western and southern border of the People's Republic of China, from Kom-Kanas Mongolian ethnic township in Xinjiang to Dongxing in Guangxi. ...
References
Bibliography
*
Counties of Tibet
Shigatse
China–Nepal border crossings
{{Xigazê-geo-stub