Nyingchi (), also known as Linzhi ( zh, s=林芝, p=Linzhi) or Nyingtri, is a

prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province of China, province and above a Counties of the People's Republic of China, county in China's ...

in the southeast of 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 China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The administrative seat of Nyingchi is

Bayi District Bayi or Chagyib District ( or ), formerly Nyingchi County, is a District of Nyingchi in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Bayi Town, the administrative capital of Nyingchi, is located within the district. History In 1951, modern administra ...

. Nyingchi is the location of

Buchu Monastery Buchu Monastery, Buchu Sergyi Lhakhang, or Buchasergyi Lakang Monastery () is a temple in an ancient monastery about 28 km south of the modern town of Bayi, which replaces the old village of Drakchi, in Nyingchi County of eastern Tibet, China. ...

History

The origins of Nyingchi date back to Tibet's

prehistoric era Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

. Researchers discovered several human bones and burial groups from the

Neolithic Age The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wid ...

near the

Niyang River The Nyang River (; ; also transliterated as Niyang or Nanpan) is a major river in south-west Tibet and the second largest tributary of the Yarlung Tsangpo River by discharge. Geography The Nyang has a length of 307.5 km and originates at ...

in the 1970s, suggesting that humans in Nyingchi were engaged in slash-and-burn agriculture and led a relatively sedentary lifestyle as early as 4,000-5,000 years ago. Unearthed artifacts, including net pendants and arrowheads, indicate that the inhabitants of this region, along the ancient Niyang River,

Yarlung Zangbo River The Yarlung Tsangpo, also called Yarlung Zangbo () and Yalu Zangbu River () is a river that flows through the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and Arunachal Pradesh of India. It is the longest river of Tibet and the fifth longest in China. The u ...

, and ancient lakes, were involved in both cultivation and fishing activities along the riverbanks. Initially, Linzhi was under the dominion of the King of

Kongpo Kongpo () is a region of central-eastern Tibet, centered in modern Gongbo'gyamda County, Nyingchi Prefecture. It is situated on the Nyang River, a northern tributary of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. Kongpo Drula Gonpa is the oldest and largest mon ...

. In the

Sakya The ''Sakya'' (, 'pale earth') school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug. It is one of the Red Hat Orders along with the Nyingma and Kagyu. Origins Virūpa, 16th century. It depict ...

and Patrul epochs (13th-16th centuries), Nyingchi emerged as the dominion of the

Karma Kagyu Karma Kagyu (), or Kamtsang Kagyu (), is a widely practiced and probably the second-largest lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, M ...

sect of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...

. Subsequently, in the 17th century, the Gandenpozhang regime was instituted, leading to the partitioning of Nyingchi into the territories of Ngapoi, Jangzhong, and Kala, which were further subdivided into Zelah, Jomu, Shekhar, and Jangdar dzongs. The Bomi region had long been governed by the indigenous leader

Kallang Depa Kallang ( ) is a planning area and residential zone located in the Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in th ...

and was in a condition of secession. In 1931, the Tibetan government partitioned Nyingchi Bomi into two administrative divisions: Bodu and Bomê, while the Mêdog area was reclassified as Mêdog zong. Tibet was annexed by China in May 1951. In January 1960, the Tagaung Special Department was established, and in February 1960, it was restructured as the Nyingchi Prefecture, with the Special Department located in Nyingchi County. In March 2015,

State Council of China The State Council of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Central People's Government, is the chief administrative authority and national cabinet. It is constitutionally the highest administrative organ of the country and the e ...

sanctioned the dissolution of Linzhi Prefecture and the creation of Nyingchi City at the prefecture level, as well as the dissolution of Linzhi County and the establishment of

. In July 2021,

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...

, at the time

General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party The general secretary of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party ( zh, s=中国共产党中央委员会总书记, p=Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Zhōngyāng Wěiyuánhuì Zǒngshūjì) is the leader of the Chinese Communist Part ...

President of China The president of China, officially the president of the People's Republic of China, is the List of state representatives of the People's Republic of China, state representative of the China, People's Republic of China. On its own, it is a Fig ...

, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, conducted a research visit to Nyingchi.

Economy

Tourism

The average elevation of Nyingchi is 3,040 meters (9,974 feet), which is the lowest compared with the other prefectures in Tibet. The relatively low elevation compared to other regions of the Tibetan plateau yields a lower risk of

altitude sickness Altitude sickness, the mildest form being acute mountain sickness (AMS), is a harmful effect of high altitude, caused by rapid exposure to low amounts of oxygen at high elevation. People's bodies can respond to high altitude in different wa ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

province announced in 2012 that it plans to invest more than RMB 400 million (US$63 million) in Nyingchi's tourism industry. According to the plan, Guangdong will help build 22 "prosperous model villages" in Nyingchi in counties such as Bomê and

Zayü Zayul County ()
KNAB, retrieved 5 July 2021. The opening ceremony was held on the morning of September 9, 2015 for the (Lhasa to Mozhugongka section) and (Gongbu Jiangda to Linzhi section) connecting

Lhasa Lhasa, officially the Chengguan District of Lhasa City, is the inner urban district of Lhasa (city), Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwestern China. Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining ...

Linzhi 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 ...

. It takes about 5 hours to travel from

to Nyingchi by a highway opened at the end of 2018. Nyingchi is connected to Lhasa by the 435-kilometer

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 ...

, completed in 2021. The journey from Lhasa by train takes 2.5 hours. The Linzhi Milin Airport was opened in Nyingchi in March 2017. Linzhi Airport initiated RNP navigation procedures in 2006, becoming the first airport in China to operate exclusively with RNP. It is presently the sole transportation airport globally where all aircraft takeoffs and landings are mandated to adhere to RNP AR procedures, necessitating compliance with specific aircraft and crew qualifications. In 2018, the construction of the

Engineered materials arrestor system An engineered materials arrestor system, engineered materials arresting system (EMAS), or arrester bed is a bed of engineered materials built at the end of a runway to reduce the severity of the consequences of an aircraft running off the end o ...

(EMAS) was completed at the Miling Airport.

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as

subtropical highland An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring co ...

(Cwb).

Flora and fauna

According to local forestry officials, Nyingchi hosts the country's largest primitive forest region that covers 26.4 billion cubic metres, storing over 800 million cubic metres of wood. The forests of Bomi, Zayu and Loyu have ancient dragon spruces which reach heights of over 80 metres and diameters of 2.5 metres. Wildlife species include "the Bengal tiger, leopard, bear, snub-nosed monkey, antelope and lesser panda." There are over 2,000 species of higher plants, including some 100 species of xylophyta, 165 species of medical herbs and fungus. Crops include "rice, peanut, apple, orange, banana, lemon. Agricultural products include medicinal materials, edible fungus, orange, tangerine, sugar cane, honey peach, apple, pear, grape, walnut and other fruits.

Administrative subdivisions

The two counties of Zayü () and Mêdog (), collectively known as part of

South Tibet Southern Tibet is a literal translation of the Chinese term "" (), which may refer to different geographic areas: The southern part of Tibet, covering the middle reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River Valley between Saga County to the west and Main ...

, are considered by the Chinese government to be under Chinese jurisdiction.

Sister cities

Pokhara Pokhara ( ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city located in central Nepal, which serves as the capital of Gandaki Province. Named the country's "capital of tourism" it is the List of cities in Nepal, second largest city after Kathmandu, with 599,5 ...

, Nepal

References

External links

Tibetinfor.com

Nyingchi information and travel guides
at Nyingchi.com {{authority control Prefecture-level divisions of Tibet