Nangqên County, or Nangchen (, zh, s=囊谦县), is currently a county of the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and is the southernmost

county-level division The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since 1412, due to mainland China's large population and geographical area. In the People's Republic of China, the constitution provides for three levels of government. Ho ...

Qinghai Qinghai is an inland Provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. It is the largest provinces of China, province of China (excluding autonomous regions) by area and has the third smallest population. Its capital and largest city is Xin ...

province, China, bordering the

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), often shortened to Tibet in English or Xizang in Pinyin, Hanyu Pinyin, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China. It was established in 1965 to replace the ...

to the south. Until 1951, the region was known as the Kingdom of Nangchen. It was one of the five kingdoms of the historical region of Do Kham. The county seat is Xangda, built in a side valley and on the right bank of the Dza Chu (upper reaches of the

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth-longest river and the third-longest in Asia with an estimated length of and a drainage area of , discharging of wat ...

). In 2000, the county's population amounted to people, inhabiting a surface of .

History

The county's name is derived from the former king (''nang chen rgyal po'') and Kingdom of Nangchen, a tribal confederation that emerged as a unified

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

kingdom in the 13th century. The present-day's county comprises the core area of the old kingdom of Nangchen. Memories of the Kingdom of Nangchen play a role in local politics, and among Tibetan refugees who came to India from the area. Scholar Maria Turek reported that in 2015 she heard about “a man who went to various Tibetan communities in India, introducing himself as ‘the king of Nangchen’ not without some success, even though he had no credentials to prove his claim.” A Yelpa Kagyu monastery, Tana Monastery (Jang Tana), was founded by Yelpa Yeshe Tsek in 1068. It is considered a branch monastery of Tsurpu.Tana monastery, (towards) Ji'nyinsib, Qinghai, CN
Mapping Buddhist Monasteries, accessed August 5, 2017.

Administrative divisions

Nangqên County is divided to 1 town and 9 townships.

Climate

Transportation

* China National Highway 214

References

External links

Nangchen historic area

Religious life in Nangchen: Photo album
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nangqen County Amdo County-level divisions of Qinghai Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture