Shannan (山南)

1. Introduction

Shannan City (Tibetan: ལྷོ་ཁ་གྲོང་ཁྱེར།, Wylie transliteration: Lho-kha grong khyer, Tibetan pinyin: Lhoka Chongkyêr) is a prefecture-level city in the southeastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Shannan City is located in the middle and lower reaches of the main stream of the Yarlung Zangbo River, south of the Gangdise Mountains to the Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains. It borders Lhasa City to the north, Xigazê City to the west, Nyingchi City to the east, and shares borders with India and Bhutan to the south, with some areas being disputed between the two countries. The People's Government of the city is located at No. 13 Naidong Road, Zedang Street, Naidong District.

2. Etymology

"Shan" (ལྷོ): In Tibetan, it means "south."

"Nan" (ལྷོ): Means "south."

"Shannan" (ལྷོ་ཁ): Combined, it means "the south side of the mountain" or "the southern region," referring to the area located on the northern foothills of the Himalayas.

3. History

Legends from this region provide clear evidence that the Shannan area holds a certain position in Tibetan history. According to legend, the people of the snowy region originated from the union of a divine monkey and a woman.

In February 2016, it was officially confirmed that Shannan Prefecture and Naidong County were abolished, and the prefecture-level city of Shannan was established, with Naidong District being set up within Shannan City.

4. Geography

Shannan City covers an area of approximately 79,700 square kilometers, accounting for one-fifteenth of the total area of the Tibet Autonomous Region. It is located between 90°14"E to 94°22"E and 27°08"N to 29°47"N and consists of twelve counties. Among them, Nedong County, Qusong County, Sangri County, Comai County, Zhanang County, Gyaca County, and Cona County are situated in the middle valley of the Yarlung Zangbo River. Gonggar County, Lhünzê County, Lhozhag County, and Nagarzê County are located in the Himalayan belt region. Nagarzê County, Cona County, and Lhozhag County border India and Bhutan, with a border length of 630 kilometers. The Shannan region borders Shigatse City to the west, Nyingchi City to the east, and Lhasa City to the north. The Yarlung Zangbo River flows from west to east through the Shannan region, between Qushui Town in Lhasa City and Gyaca Town in Shannan. Its tributaries extend through the middle and lower parts of Shannan, converging and flowing out of the country, where it is renamed the Brahmaputra River by India. It provides a continuous and abundant water source for the region, making the land more fertile. Its valley areas feature excellent pastures and dense forests.

Hills, valleys, rivers, streams, hot springs, lakes, limestone (karst) caves, and many natural scenic areas give the city a diverse landscape. Shannan is also recorded as having many "firsts" in Tibet: "the first area for cultivated land, the first land measurement, the first use of water for irrigation, the first storage of forage grass, the first metal casting, and the discovery of many technologies."

The natural scenic areas of Shannan City have been classified into four categories. One of them, the Yarlung State Scenic Region, features snow-covered mountains, glaciers, pastures, river valleys, alpine vegetation, historical sites, folk customs, and art. This type of scenic region is unique in all of Tibet. Shannan City boasts natural landscapes and captivating cultural heritage.

4.1 Mountains

Shannan City belongs to the typical Southern Tibet Valley, with terrain gradually descending from west to east and an average altitude of around 3,700 meters. Shannan has numerous snow-capped mountains and glaciers, with over 10 mountains exceeding 6,000 meters in altitude. Among them, five peaks are open to the public, located in Cona, Lhozhag, and Nagarzê counties, with an average altitude of nearly 7,000 meters and a maximum of 7,554 meters. Additionally, there are the Yarla Shampo Snow Mountain and the Woze Gangkar Snow Mountain located in Nedong and Sangri counties, with an average altitude above 6,000 meters, where pristine glaciers remain unmelted year-round.

4.2 Hydrology

Shannan City has a dense network of rivers. The middle reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River, the city's largest river, form a broad 302-kilometer zone in Shannan, with the widest point reaching 7 kilometers. It flows through Gonggar, Zhanang, Sangri, Gyaca, Qusong, Nedong, and Nagarzê counties, nourishing thousands of acres of artificial forest land along its banks. The city has a total of 41 rivers, large and small, with concentrated tourism resources in the basins of the Yarlung River, Wengqu River, Woka River, and Zengqi River. The city has dozens of lakes, large and small, with the most famous being the mystically sacred Lake Lhamo La-tso, Yamdrok Lake, known as the "Jade Lake," and Zhêgu Lake, the "Pearl of the Grassland."

4.3 Climate

Shannan City has a temperate arid climate, while the southern border area has a plateau subfrigid semi-arid climate. The average annual precipitation is less than 450 mm, with the rainy season concentrated from June to September. The city's annual sunshine duration is 2,600-3,300 hours, with an average annual minimum temperature of 6°C and a maximum of 8.8°C; the highest temperature is 31°C (Gyaca), and the lowest is -37°C (Cona). The average annual wind speed is around 3 m/s, with a maximum wind speed of 17 m/s. The windy period is mainly from December to March of the following year.

Three of Tibet's four sacred mountains are in Shannan: Gonggar Gyalsang Chöphuk, Samye Hepori, and Tsetang Gongpori. Shannan also has two sacred lakes: Yamdrok Lake and Lhamo La-tso. Shannan possesses the national-level scenic area—the Yarlung Scenic Area.

Meteorological Data for Nedong District, Shannan City (Average data from 1981 to 2010, Extreme data from 1953 to 2010)

| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year | |------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|-----------------| | Record high °C (°F) | 20.5 (68.9) | 20.6 (69.1) | 25.0 (77.0) | 26.5 (79.7) | 28.7 (83.7) | 30.0 (86.0) | 30.3 (86.5) | 28.5 (83.3) | 27.1 (80.8) | 24.5 (76.1) | 22.5 (72.5) | 19.3 (66.7) | 30.3 (86.5) | | Average high °C (°F) | 8.9 (48.0) | 10.5 (50.9) | 13.9 (57.0) | 16.8 (62.2) | 20.6 (69.1) | 24.0 (75.2) | 23.4 (74.1) | 22.6 (72.7) | 21.2 (70.2) | 18.2 (64.8) | 13.2 (55.8) | 9.7 (49.5) | 16.9 (62.5) | | Daily mean °C (°F) | 0.4 (32.7) | 2.8 (37.0) | 6.4 (43.5) | 9.2 (48.6) | 13.0 (55.4) | 16.5 (61.7) | 16.4 (61.5) | 15.7 (60.3) | 14.2 (57.6) | 10.2 (50.4) | 4.5 (40.1) | 0.6 (33.1) | 9.1 (48.4) | | Average low °C (°F) | −7.3 (18.9) | −4.6 (23.7) | −0.7 (30.7) | 2.5 (36.5) | 6.3 (43.3) | 10.3 (50.5) | 11.3 (52.3) | 10.9 (51.6) | 9.0 (48.2) | 3.5 (38.3) | −2.7 (27.1) | −6.7 (19.9) | 2.7 (36.8) | | Record low °C (°F) | −18.2 (−0.8) | −14.0 (6.8) | −12.3 (9.9) | −7.3 (18.9) | −3.7 (25.3) | 0.7 (33.3) | 2.8 (37.0) | 1.5 (34.7) | −0.7 (30.7) | −7.2 (19.0) | −11.2 (11.8) | −14.8 (5.4) | −18.2 (−0.8) | | Average precipitation mm (inches) | 0.3 (0.01) | 1.1 (0.04) | 5.6 (0.22) | 12.6 (0.50) | 26.7 (1.05) | 48.7 (1.92) | 113.3 (4.46) | 110.8 (4.36) | 56.0 (2.20) | 8.4 (0.33) | 1.0 (0.04) | 0.2 (0.01) | 384.7 (15.14) | | Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 0.5 | 0.9 | 2.7 | 5.7 | 10.7 | 14.2 | 19.1 | 19.1 | 14.0 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 91.3 | | Average relative humidity (%) | 29 | 28 | 31 | 39 | 43 | 49 | 60 | 61 | 58 | 43 | 34 | 32 | 42 |

Data source: China Meteorological Data Network (precipitation days for 1971-2000)

5. Administrative Divisions

Shannan City administers 1 district, 10 counties, and has jurisdiction over 1 county-level city.

District: Nedong District Counties: Chanang County, Gonggar County, Sangri County, Qonggyai County, Qusum County, Comai County, Lhozhag County, Gyaca County, Lhünzê County, Nagarzê County County-level City: Cona City

Administrative Division Map of Shannan City

| Division Code | Division Name | Tibetan Script | Hanyu Pinyin | Tibetan Pinyin | Wylie Transliteration | Area (km²) | Resident Population (2020 Census) | Government Seat | Postal Code | Township-level Divisions | Border Management Area Scope | |-------------------|-------------------|--------------------|------------------|--------------------|---------------------------|----------------|--------------------------------------|---------------------|-----------------|-----------------------------|--------------------------------| | 540500 | Shannan City | ལྷོ་ཁ་གྲོང་ཁྱེར། | Shānnán Shì | Lhoka Chongkyêr | lho kha grong khyer | 79,253.53 | 354,035 | Nedong District | 856000 | 1 Subdistrict | 23 Towns | 59 Townships | 5 Ethnic Townships | Parts of the territory | | 540502 | Nedong District | སྣེ་གདོང་ཆུས། | Nǎidōng Qū | Nêdong Qü | sne gdong chus | 2,182.38 | 81,608 | Zêtang Subdistrict | 856100 | 1 Subdistrict | 1 Town | 5 Townships | - | None | | 540521 | Chanang County | གྲ་ནང་རྫོང་། | Zhānáng Xiàn | Chanang Zong | gra nang rdzong | 2,148.82 | 36,656 | Chatang Town | 850800 | - | 2 Towns | 3 Townships | - | None | | 540522 | Gonggar County | གོང་དཀར་རྫོང་། | Gònggā Xiàn | Konggar Zong | gong dkar rdzong | 2,385.99 | 53,701 | Gyixung Town | 850700 | - | 5 Towns | 4 Townships | - | None | | 540523 | Sangri County | ཟངས་རི་རྫོང་། | Sāngrì Xiàn | Sangri Zong | zangs ri rdzong | 2,632.18 | 18,041 | Sangri Town | 856200 | - | 1 Town | 3 Townships | - | None | | 540524 | Qonggyai County | འཕྱོངས་རྒྱས་རྫོང་། | Qióngjié Xiàn | Qonggyai Zong | 'phyongs rgyas rdzong | 1,035.25 | 15,199 | Qonggyai Town | 856800 | - | 1 Town | 3 Townships | - | None | | 540525 | Qusum County | ཆུ་གསུམ་རྫོང་། | Qūsōng Xiàn | Qusum Zong | chu gsum rdzong | 2,069.98 | 12,962 | Qusum Town | 856300 | - | 2 Towns | 3 Townships | - | None | | 540526 | Comai County | མཚོ་སྨད་རྫོང་། | Cuòměi Xiàn | Comai Zong | mtsho smad rdzong | 4,177.21 | 12,132 | Comai Town | 856900 | - | 2 Towns | 2 Townships | - | None | | 540527 | Lhozhag County | ལྷོ་བྲག་རྫོང་། | Luòzhā Xiàn | Lhozhag Zong | lho brag rdzong | 5,022.73 | 19,865 | Lhozhag Town | 851200 | - | 2 Towns | 5 Townships | - | Entire Territory | | 540528 | Gyaca County | རྒྱ་ཚ་རྫོང་། | Jiāchá Xiàn | Gyaca Zong | rgya tsha rdzong | 4,388.26 | 23,534 | Ngamra Town | 856400 | - | 2 Towns | 5 Townships | - | None | | 540529 | Lhünzê County | ལྷུན་རྩེ་རྫོང་། | Lóngzǐ Xiàn | Lhünzê Zong | lhun rtse rdzong | 10,049.61 | 33,570 | Lhünzê Town | 856600 | - | 2 Towns | 9 Townships | 1 Ethnic Township | Entire Territory | | 540531 | Nagarzê County | སྣ་དཀར་རྩེ་རྫོང་། | Làngkǎzǐ Xiàn | Nagarzê Zong | sna dkar rtse rdzong | 7,969.89 | 32,835 | Nagarzê Town | 851100 | - | 2 Towns | 8 Townships | - | Entire Territory | | 540581 | Cona City | མཚོ་སྣ་གྲོང་ཁྱེར། | Cuònà Shì | Cona Chongkyêr | mtsho sna grong khyer | 35,191.23 | 13,932 | Mamba Ethnic Township | 856700 | - | 1 Town | 9 Townships | 4 Ethnic Townships | Entire Territory |

6. Economy

In 2013, Shannan City achieved a gross domestic product (GDP) of 8.6 billion yuan, representing a growth of 17.7%. Fiscal revenue and tax revenue experienced high growth, with fiscal revenue projected at 790 million yuan, an increase of 31%, and tax revenue projected at 1.47 billion yuan, an increase of 69.6%. The private economy and investment attraction continued to grow. Throughout the year, the number of registered private enterprises and registered capital increased by 61.72% and 145%, respectively. Investment attraction efforts deepened, with funds in place reaching 2.47 billion yuan, a growth of 71.53%. The GDP growth rate was 17.7%; fixed asset investment in society grew by 23.4%; fiscal revenue growth reached 26%; and the per capita income of farmers and herdsmen increased by 18%. The proportion of the three industries was 5.8:47.7:46.5.

In 2013, Shannan City cultivated 60,000 mu of high-quality highland barley and 10,000 mu of red potatoes, raised 2.455 million poultry, and improved 45,000 yellow cattle. The Nedong and Lhünzê highland barley processing bases were completed, and trademarks such as "Tibetan Holy Field" were registered. A total of 48 water conservancy projects commenced (including 8 ongoing projects and 40 new projects, with a total approved investment of 674 million yuan). Throughout the year, a cumulative investment of 428 million yuan was completed, exceeding the annual planned investment by 3.74% and representing a year-on-year increase of 14.75%. Water conservancy projects contributed to an increase of 79.25 million yuan in the income of farmers and herdsmen, a year-on-year growth of 21.9%. Three batches of projects to revitalize border areas and enrich residents were implemented, totaling 171 projects with 78.47 million yuan in funding. Among these, the first batch implemented 67 projects with 26.87 million yuan; the second batch implemented 81 projects with 34.52 million yuan; and the third batch implemented 23 projects with 9.08 million yuan. One characteristic industry project was secured with 8 million yuan in funding.

In 2013, key industries such as energy, mining, construction materials, Tibetan medicine, and ethnic handicrafts achieved an industrial added value of 920 million yuan above the designated scale, representing a growth of 25%.

In 2013, the loan balance of financial institutions in Shannan City increased by 200%. Fixed asset investment in society reached 10.7 billion yuan, a growth of 23.4%; total retail sales of consumer goods amounted to 3.01 billion yuan, an increase of 18%. The China Tibet Yarlung Cultural Festival and the region's first folk song competition were held, and a number of artistic works such as "Yarlung Zangbo" were produced. Throughout the year, the city received 1.654 million tourist visits, generating tourism revenue of 610 million yuan, representing increases of 19% and 29%, respectively.

7. Transportation

7.1 Highways

Provincial Highways 101, 307, and 306 traverse the east-west territory and connect with Provincial Highway 202, providing a direct route south to the China-India border.

On December 8, 2017, the National Highway 349 Zê (Zêtang)-Gong (Gonggar) High-Grade Highway was officially opened to traffic. The highway is laid out along the north bank of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. It starts at the north bridgehead of the Zêtang Bridge, passes through Nedong District, Zhanang County, and Gonggar County, and ends at the existing Longba Interchange. The total length of the route is 89.87 kilometers. The entire route adopts the standard of a first-class highway with two-way four lanes and a design speed of 100 kilometers per hour. The travel time from Shannan to Lhasa can be shortened from 3 hours to 1.5 hours.

7.2 Railway

The Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway, completed in 2021, passes through the Shannan urban area and has established stations at Gonggar, Zhanang, Zêtang, Sangri, and Gyaca, connecting to the planned Sichuan-Tibet Railway.

7.3 Aviation

Lhasa Gonggar Airport is located in Jialin Town, Gonggar County, Shannan City, situated on the south bank of the Yarlung Tsangpo River at an altitude of 3,600 meters. The runway is 4,000 meters long and 45 meters wide. With an airport classification of 4E, it can accommodate the takeoff and landing of large aircraft such as Boeing 747s and Airbuses. It is one of the highest-altitude civil airports in the world.

Shannan Lhünzê Airport is located in Lhünzê County, Shannan City. It received approval from the National Development and Reform Commission in April 2021 and was officially opened to air traffic on December 23, 2022.

8. Education

Shannan City, located in the Tibet Autonomous Region, has achieved remarkable progress in the field of education in recent years. The municipal government places high importance on education, designating it as one of the "Ten Major People's Livelihood Projects" during the 13th Five-Year Plan period and allocating substantial financial and aid funds for educational development. Currently, Shannan City has achieved the goal of having a middle school in every county and a complete primary school in every township. The enrollment rate for school-age children exceeds 80%, and the city is gradually accomplishing objectives such as nine-year compulsory education, universal six-year education, and literacy programs.

Shannan City emphasizes educational equity and pro-people policies, promoting balanced development of compulsory education in urban and rural areas and narrowing educational disparities between counties. Additionally, the city has implemented measures such as ideological and political education, deepening the "Five-Education" integrated talent cultivation system, and strengthening the construction of the teaching workforce to enhance the quality of education. In terms of special education, Shannan City has established special education schools that provide comprehensive rehabilitation education and vocational training for children with visual, hearing, and intellectual disabilities.

The education system in Shannan City not only focuses on basic education but also actively promotes the development of vocational and higher education to ensure students can secure employment after graduation. Furthermore, through aid projects and the "group-style" teacher support program, the teaching capabilities of local educators and the overall quality of education have been further improved.

9. Population

At the end of 2022, the city's population was 353,200, a decrease of 1,900 from the end of the previous year. Among them, the urban population was 114,956, representing an urbanization rate of 32.5%. Throughout the year, there were 2,936 births, with a birth rate of 8.17‰; there were 2,134 deaths, with a mortality rate of 5.94‰; the natural growth rate was 2.23‰.

According to the Seventh National Population Census in 2020, the city's permanent resident population was 354,035. Compared with the 328,990 people from the Sixth National Population Census, there was an increase of 25,045 people over the ten-year period, a growth of 7.61%, with an average annual growth rate of 0.74%. Among them, the male population was 182,938, accounting for 51.67% of the total population; the female population was 171,097, accounting for 48.33% of the total population. The sex ratio of the total population (with females as 100) was 106.92. The population aged 0–14 was 68,060, accounting for 19.22% of the total population; the population aged 15–59 was 245,617, accounting for 69.38% of the total population; the population aged 60 and above was 40,358, accounting for 11.4% of the total population, of which the population aged 65 and above was 26,579, accounting for 7.51% of the total population. The population living in urban areas was 113,048, accounting for 31.93% of the total population; the population living in rural areas was 240,987, accounting for 68.07% of the total population.

9.1. Ethnic Groups

Among the city's permanent resident population, the Han ethnic group population was 31,857, accounting for 9.00%; the Tibetan ethnic group population was 318,250, accounting for 89.89%; and the populations of other ethnic minorities were 3,928, accounting for 1.11%. Compared with the Sixth National Population Census in 2010, the Han population increased by 13,464, a growth of 73.2%, and its proportion of the total population increased by 3.41 percentage points; the populations of various ethnic minorities increased by 11,581, a growth of 3.73%, and their proportion of the total population decreased by 3.41 percentage points. Among them, the Tibetan population increased by 9,842, a growth of 3.19%, and its proportion of the total population decreased by 3.85 percentage points.

Ethnic Composition of Shannan City (November 2010)

| Ethnic Group | Tibetan | Han | Hui | Monba | Lhoba | Tu | Dongxiang | Miao | Manchu | Tujia | Other Ethnic Groups | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 308408 | 18393 | 1011 | 670 | 164 | 51 | 40 | 35 | 33 | 33 | 152 | | Percentage of Total Population (%) | 93.74 | 5.59 | 0.31 | 0.20 | 0.05 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.05 | | Percentage of Minority Population (%) | 99.30 | --- | 0.33 | 0.22 | 0.05 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.05 |

10. Religion

Shannan City is a significant prefecture-level city in the Tibet Autonomous Region, located in southern Tibet, and boasts abundant religious and cultural resources. The region is one of the birthplaces of Tibetan Buddhism, represented by renowned monasteries such as Samye Monastery, Yumbulagang, and Changzhug Monastery. Samye Monastery is the first monastery in Tibet where monks were ordained, blending Tibetan, Han Chinese, and Indian architectural styles, making it a vital sacred site in Tibetan Buddhism. Yumbulagang, on the other hand, is the first palace in Tibetan history and is regarded as one of the cradles of Tibetan Buddhism. Additionally, Changzhug Monastery is one of the earliest Buddhist monasteries established during the Tubo period and serves as an important center for the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.

The religious culture of Shannan City is not only reflected in these historical sites but is also preserved and developed through various religious activities and festivals. For example, around the 15th day of the fourth month in the Tibetan calendar each year, large-scale religious activities for recognizing reincarnated lamas take place locally. Furthermore, Shannan City emphasizes ethnic unity and religious harmony, promoting the harmonious development of religion and society through educational activities centered on the "Three Consciousnesses."

The religious culture of Shannan City is deeply rooted in its long history and natural landscapes, making it a significant attraction for tourists and devotees alike.

11. Culture

Shannan City, located in the southern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, is the birthplace of Tibetan ethnic culture and is hailed as the "ancestral home of the Tibetan people and the source of Tibetan culture." It boasts a wealth of historical and cultural heritage as well as natural landscapes, including significant "firsts in Tibet" such as Yumbulagang (the first palace in Tibet), Changzhug Temple (the first Buddhist hall), Suodang (the first farmland), and Samye Monastery (the first monastery).

Shannan City is not only the cradle of Tibetan culture but also the birthplace of Tibetan opera, which originated from "Bendun" in Qonggyai, Shannan. Additionally, Shannan City is home to numerous intangible cultural heritage projects, such as the weaving techniques of Zetierba and the craftsmanship of gold and wood carving. These traditional skills have been effectively preserved and passed down.

In recent years, Shannan City has vigorously promoted the development of its cultural industry, creating the "Tibetan Source Culture" brand and successfully hosting large-scale cultural events such as the China Tibet Yarlung Cultural Festival, further enhancing the visibility of Shannan's culture. At the same time, by establishing a public cultural service system and supporting intangible cultural heritage projects, Shannan City has fostered a mutually beneficial relationship between cultural endeavors and economic development, making culture a significant driving force for local economic growth.

With its profound cultural heritage and unique natural scenery, Shannan City has become an important representative of Tibetan culture. While preserving and inheriting traditional culture, it continues to innovate and develop, offering rich and diverse cultural experiences for both local residents and visitors.

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Nedong District

Nedong District

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