Lunang, Lulang, or Lulang Town ( zh, 鲁朗镇; , Lunang) is a high-altitude township in

Nyingchi Prefecture Nyingchi (), also known as Linzhi ( zh, s=林芝, p=Linzhi) or Nyingtri, is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China. The administrative seat of Nyingchi is Bayi District. Nyingchi is the location of Buch ...

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. Situated 70 kilometers east of Nyingchi City at 3,300 meters above sea level, it straddles the Sichuan-Tibet Highway (G318) and serves as a gateway to the

Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, also known as the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, the Tsangpo Canyon, the Brahmaputra Canyon or the Tsangpo Gorge (), is a canyon along the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is the deepes ...

Geography

Historically a seasonal herding settlement for the Monpa people, Lulang was formally established as a township in 1988. Its name translates to "Dragon Valley" in Tibetan, referencing local legends of subterranean dragon spirits. The area gained strategic importance after the 1950 liberation of Tibet, with PLA troops constructing the first all-weather road through the valley in 1954. The town is renowned for the Lulang Forest Sea, a 15-kilometer stretch of pristine alpine meadows flanked by spruce and fir forests, designated a National 4A Tourist Site in 2010. Ecotourism drives its economy, with homestays in Zaxigang Village offering traditional

Monpa The Monpa ( (;, Chinese: 门巴族) are a major people of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India and one of the 56 officially recognized ethnic groups in China. Most Monpas live in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, with a population of ...

wood-carved architecture. A 2017 Guangdong-Tibet joint development project established the Lulang International Tourism Town, featuring sustainable infrastructure like solar-heated lodges and wastewater recycling systems. Key cultural events include the annual Lulang Horse Festival in July showcasing Monpa

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

skills and the Zhoqin harvest dance. The Tibet Ecological Conservation Institute monitors local biodiversity under a 2019 agreement limiting daily tourist entries to 2,000 visitors. Transport links expanded with the 2021 opening of the

Lhasa–Nyingchi railway The Lhasa–Nyingchi railway () also known as the Lalin Line (), is a single-track railway across the southeast Tibet, China, linking Lhasa and Nyingchi. It has a length of and a designed speed of per hour. The trains have been equipped with oxyg ...

, reducing travel time from Lhasa to 3.5 hours.

References

{{Nyingchi Township-level divisions of Tibet Populated places in Nyingchi