Gyirong Town
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Kyirong or Gyirong (), Jilong in Chinese () and Kerung in Nepalese (), is a town situated in the southern part of
Gyirong County Kyirong or Gyirong County (), also known by its Chinese name Jilong ( zh, s=吉隆县), is a county of the Shigatse Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is famous for its mild climatically conditions and its abundant vegetation which ...
in 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 ...
, China. The town is situated on the east bank of Kyirong Tsangpo, a source stream of the Trishuli River, at an elevation of about . It has a subtropical mountain monsoon climate, with reasonable precipitation and warm weather, unusual for Tibet.


Geography

Kyirong Town is located south of the county seat of
Dzongka Dzongka () or Zongga () is a town and the administrative headquarters of Gyirong County in the southwestern Tibet region of China bordering Nepal. Being the administrative headquarters, it is also sometimes referred to as "Gyirong Dzong" or "Gyir ...
and roughly north of Rasuwa Fort on the China-Nepal border where a
border crossing Border control comprises 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 als ...
into
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
is located. In Kyirong Town, there is a village of ethnic Nepali referred to as Daman people. They are descendants of the Nepalese
Gurkha The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with the endonym Gorkhali ( Nepali: गोर्खाली ), are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of North India. The Gurkha units consist of Nepali and ...
army from centuries ago. Previously stateless, they were granted Chinese citizenship in 2003.


History

After the division of the Tibetan Empire, descendants of
Songtsen Gampo Songtsen Gampo (Classical , pronounced ) (; (601–683 CE, reign 614-648) was the 33rd Tibetan king of the Yarlung dynasty and the founder of the Tibetan Empire. The first of three Dharma Kings of Tibet, he formally introduced Buddhism to Tib ...
fled to Kyirong and then founded the Gongtang Kingdom, whose ruins are now in Kyirong. During the first campaign of the
Sino-Nepalese War The Sino-Nepalese War (), also known as the Sino-Gorkha War and in Chinese as the campaign of Gorkha (), was a war fought between the Qing dynasty of China and the Kingdom of Nepal in the late 18th century following an invasion of Tibet by th ...
in the late-1780s, the Nepalese forces captured Kyirong. It was recaptured by joint Chinese and Tibetan forces during the second campaign in July 1792. Historically, Kyirong Town has been an important town in the cross border trade between China and Nepal as it was located on a major traditional trade thoroughfare between the two countries. In 1961, Kyirong was established as a
port of entry In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border control, border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not impo ...
from Rasuwa Fort in Nepal by the Chinese government. In December 2014, the Gyirong
port of entry In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border control, border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not impo ...
was opened to international users and this route between China and Nepal was considered to be more reliable than the one through the
Zhangmu Zhangmu () or Dram in Tibetan (), or Khasa in Nepali, is a customs town and port of entry located in Nyalam County in Tibet, China close to the Nepal-China border, just uphill and across the Bhotekoshi River from the Nepalese town of Kodari. ...
-
Kodari Kodari is a small village located at the border with Tibet-China. The village is located at the end–point of the Arniko Highway, which connects Kodari with the capital city of Kathmandu. Kathmandu is away from Kodari. Kodari is a major border ...
border crossing.


The April 2015 earthquake

Kyirong/Rasuwa played a minor role as a cross-border trade route until about a year after the
April 2015 Nepal earthquake The April 2015 Nepal earthquake (also known as the Gorkha earthquake) killed 8,962 people and injured 21,952 across the countries of Nepal, India, China and Bangladesh. It occurred at on Saturday 25 April 2015, with a magnitude of Moment magni ...
as the cross-border route through the Zhangmu-Kodari border crossing was more badly damaged, only reopening on 29 May 2019. Both corridors sustained quake damage and had been closed due to the collapse of the border bridges at both locations and due to continuing rockfall from unstable hillsides, the Kyirong/Rasuwa crossing being technically easier to re-open. The Kyirong-Rasuwa Fort route experienced quicker recovery since it is favoured for trans-Himalayan connectivity due to lower elevation and a gentler pass slope. A temporary bridge was constructed in place of the damaged concrete bridge while a new concrete bridge was constructed and opened on 7 June 2019. However, hillside stabilization had yet to be addressed as of November 2018 and this was necessary before major infrastructure work could progress. Bridges remained damaged and only recently begun reconstruction. Additionally, transnational electricity projects are expected to pass through the area, although funding is still a question mark and the Nepali government remains cash-strapped and overburdened with competing projects.


References


Bibliography

* * * {{China–Nepal border crossings Gyirong County China–Nepal border crossings