| Ngari Prefecture | |
| Other Name: | Ali Prefecture |
| Native Name: | Chinese: 阿里地区 · {{bo-textonly|མངའ་རིས་ས་ཁུལ། |
| Settlement Type: | Prefecture |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | People's Republic of China |
| Subdivision Type1: | Autonomous region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Tibet |
| Subdivision Type2: | County-level divisions |
| Seat Type: | Prefecture seat |
| Seat: | Gar County (Shiquanhe) |
| Area Total Km2: | 304683 |
| Population Total: | 95465 |
| Population Density Km2: | 0.31 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 0.81 |
| Demographics Type2: | GDP |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Total |
| Demographics2 Info1: | CN¥ 3.7 billion US$ 0.6 billion |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Per capita |
| Demographics2 Info2: | CN¥ 36,378 US$ 5,841 |
| Timezone: | China Standard |
| Utc Offset: | +8 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Website: | Ngari(Ali) Prefecture Government |
Ngari Prefecture or Ali Prefecture is a prefecture of China's Tibet Autonomous Region covering Western Tibet, whose traditional name is Ngari Khorsum. Its administrative centre and largest settlement is the town of Shiquanhe. It is one of the least densely populated areas in the world, with 0.3 people per kilometer (0.85 per mile).
Ngari was once the heart of the ancient kingdom of Guge. Later Ngari, along with Ü and Tsang, composed Ü-Tsang, one of the traditional provinces of Tibet, the others being Amdo and Kham.
The prefecture has close cultural links with Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti district of the bordering Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.[1]
The paved Xinjiang-Tibet Highway (Chinese: 新藏公路) passes through this area. There are well-known prehistoric petroglyphs near the far western town of Rutog.
The town of Ngari lies above sea level in northwest Tibet some west of the capital, Lhasa. Ali Kunsha Airport began operations on July 1, 2010, becoming the fourth civil airport in Tibet (shortening the trip to Lhasa to one-and-a-half hours from three or four days by car) along with Lhasa Gonggar Airport in Lhasa, Qamdo Bamda Airport in Chamdo and Nyingchi Mainling Airport.[2]
Ngari is best known for Mount Kailash, also called Sumeru, and Lake Manasarovar. Mount Kailash is 6714m (22,028feet) above sea level and is the main peak of the Transhimalaya (also called the Kailash Range or Gangdisê Mountains). The holy mountain and lake are associated with number of religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, and Bon, among others, attracting numerous domestic and international religious pilgrims and tourists. Surrounding Mount Kailash are four ancient and famous monasteries: Zhabura, Chiu Gompa, Zheri and Zhozhub. Manasarovar lies 4588m (15,052feet) above sea level, covers an area of 412km2 and reaches a maximum depth of 70m (230feet).
Ngari has a cold desert climate (Köppen climate classification: BWk), with strong dry-winter subarctic climate tendencies (Köppen climate classification: Dwc).
Ngari Prefecture is subdivided into seven county-level divisions: seven counties.
| Name | Chinese (S) | Hanyu Pinyin | Tibetan | Wylie | Tibetan pinyin | Population | Area (km2) | Density (/km2) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gar County | Chinese: 噶尔县 | 16,901 | 13,179 | 1.28 | |||||||
| 2 | Burang County | Chinese: 普兰县 | 9,657 | 24,602 | 0.39 | |||||||
| 3 | Zanda County | Chinese: 札达县 | 6,883 | 18,083 | 0.38 | |||||||
| 4 | Rutog County | Chinese: 日土县 | 9,738 | 77,096 | 0.12 | |||||||
| 5 | Gê'gyai County | Chinese: 革吉县 | 15,483 | 46,117 | 0.33 | |||||||
| 6 | Gêrzê County | Chinese: 改则县 | 22,177 | 135,025 | 0.16 | |||||||
| 7 | Coqên County | Chinese: 措勤县 | 14,626 | 22,980 | 0.63 | |||||||