Zhanang County or Dranang (, zh, s=扎囊县) is a county of Shannan (Lhokha) 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 capital town of county is Dratang town, with a monastery named Dratang.

Geography

Dranang County is home to

Samye Samye Monastery (, ), full name Samye Migyur Lhundrub Tsula Khang (Wylie: ''Bsam yas mi ’gyur lhun grub gtsug lag khang'') and Shrine of Unchanging Spontaneous Presence, is the first Tibetan Buddhist and Nyingma monastery built in Tibet, during ...

Monastery, the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet, and many other monasteries, including

Mindrolling Monastery Mindrolling Monastery (, English: "Sublime Island of Ripening Liberation"), is one of the "Six Mother Monasteries" of the Nyingma school in Tibet. It was founded by Rigzin Terdak Lingpa in 1676. Tendrak Lingpa's lineage is known as the ''Nyo'' ...

. Dranang County is separated into northern and southern parts by the

Yarlung Tsangpo 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 ...

. In 2015, a bridge near Dratang Town was finished, connecting the northern and southern parts of the county.

History

Historically a strategic hub since the

Tibetan Empire The Tibetan Empire (,) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. It expanded further under the 38th king, Trisong De ...

(7th–9th centuries CE), it served as a cultural and administrative center under the patronage of the

Nyingma Nyingma (, ), also referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Nyingma school was founded by PadmasambhavaClaude Arpi, ''A Glimpse of the History of Tibet'', Dharamsala: Tibet Museum, 2013. ...

school 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 ...

. The county's name, Dranang, meaning "thorn grove" in Tibetan, reflects its early settlement patterns in the arid valleys. Zhanang was established as a county in April 1960 following Tibet's democratic reforms, initially under the Lhoka Special Administrative Region. Its boundaries were formalized in 1987, encompassing 5 townships and 3 towns by 2015. A major restructuring in 2021 merged rural townships into urban units, reducing divisions to 3 towns and 2 townships. The county's 2,173 km² area blends agricultural plains with rugged mountains, sustaining

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

farming and traditional crafts like Tibetan incense production.

Administrative divisions

Dranang County contains 2

towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and 3

townships A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

Climate

Gallery

Samye-10-Vorhof-Pilger-2014-gje.jpg, Samye monastery Samye-54-schwarzer Stupa-2014-gje.jpg, Black stupa of Samye Samye-99-Umgebung-2014-gje.jpg, Near Samye monastery Yarlung Tsangpo-Qüxü-Tsetang-34-2014-gje.jpg, Yarlung Tsangpo Yarlung Tsangpo-Qüxü-Tsetang-56-Ginsterheide-Sandduenen-2014-gje.jpg, Yarlung Tsangpo Yarlung Tsangpo-Qüxü-Tsetang-38-Aufforstung-2014-gje.jpg, Yarlung Tsangpo

References

{{Authority control Counties of Tibet Shannan, Tibet