
Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê (;
Nepali
Nepali or Nepalese may refer to :
Concerning Nepal
* Anything of, from, or related to Nepal
* Nepali people, citizens of Nepal
* Nepali language, an Indo-Aryan language found in Nepal, the current official national language and a language spoken ...
: ''सिगात्से''), is a
prefecture-level city
A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure.
During the Republican era, many of China' ...
of the
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a Provinces of China, province-level Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China in Southwest China. I ...
of the People's Republic of China. Its area of jurisdiction, with an area of , corresponds to the historical
Tsang region of
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
.
Overview

The administrative center of the
prefecture-level city
A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure.
During the Republican era, many of China' ...
is the
Samzhubzê District. It is roughly equivalent to the historical Shigatse urban center, the second-largest city in Tibet, located about southwest of Lhasa and home to the
Tashilhunpo Monastery
Tashi Lhunpo Monastery (), founded in 1447 by the 1st Dalai Lama, is the traditional
monastic seat of the Panchen Lama, and an historically and culturally important monastery in Shigatse, the second-largest city in Tibet.
The monastery was sa ...
, traditionally the seat of the
Panchen Lama
The Panchen Lama () is a tulku of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Panchen Lama is one of the most important figures in the Gelug tradition, with its spiritual authority second only to Dalai Lama. Along with the council of high lamas, he ...
.
Some of the towns in the prefecture are:
Gyantse
Gyantse, officially Gyangzê Town (also spelled Gyangtse; ; ), is a town located in Gyantse County, Shigatse Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It was historically considered the third largest and most prominent town in the Tibet region ( ...
(
Gyantse County),
Tingri (
Tingri County
Tingri County or ''Dhringgri County'' (; ), is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Xigazê in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.
The county comprises the upper valley of the Bum-chu or Arun River, with the valley ...
), and
Nyalam (
Nyalam County).
On 11 July 2014 Shigatse Prefecture was upgraded into a
prefecture-level city
A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure.
During the Republican era, many of China' ...
(the same status as
Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
).
Transport
Rail
The
Lhasa–Xigazê Railway connects
Xigazê Railway Station with
Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
and further connects with Qinghai via
Qinghai–Tibet Railway. It takes about 3 hours to travel between Lhasa and Shigatse by train.
It is possible to get back to Lhasa within the same day by train.
[Travel" ChinaTour.net]
Accessed 21 April 2013
Air
Shigatse Peace Airport began operations on 30 October 2010 after an
Airbus A319 landed safely, making it Tibet's fifth commercial airport. It is located 43 kilometres from
Samzhubzê District at
Jangdam
Jangdam () is a village and township of Samzhubzê District (Shigatse City), in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. At the time of the 2010 census, the township had a population of 4,951 and an area of . It is the location of the Shigatse Peace ...
Township at an elevation of 3,782 metres. The airport will be capable of supporting 230,000 passengers annually by 2020.
Road
China National Highway 318 and
China National Highway 219 are the main roads in and out of Shigatse.
Counties
Climate
Shigatse has an elevation-influenced
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
: ''Dwb'').
Gallery
File:Sakya monastery.jpg, Sakya Monastery
File:Shigatse Prefecture.jpg, Mountains in Shigatse Prefecture
File:A monastery in tibet.jpg, Monastery along the road from Shigatse to Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
File:Chooyu.jpg, Cho Oyu
__NOTOC__
Cho Oyu (Nepali: चोयु; ; ) is the sixth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu means "Turquoise Goddess" in Tibetan. The mountain is the westernmost major peak of the ''Khumbu'' sub-section of the Mahalangur ...
from Tingri
File:Shigatse abbot 1910.png, Photo of the Shigatse abbot taken around 1910
File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_135-S-17-14-34,_Tibetexpedition,_Shigatse,_Truppenparade.jpg, Tibetan Army soldiers circa 1938 on parade. They are equipped with Lee-Enfield rifles.
See also
*
Shigatse Photovoltaic Power Plant
The Shigatse Photovoltaic Power Plant () is a solar power plant located 3 km northwest of Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet, China. It was connected to the grid in July 2011.
Description
The plant sits in the industrial photovolta ...
References
Further reading
Shigatse Annals
External links
*
*
{{authority control
Prefecture-level divisions of Tibet