Lhünzhub County Explained

Lhünzhub
Other Name:Lhundrub, Linzhou
Settlement Type:County
Pushpin Map:Tibet#China
Pushpin Label Position:Lhünzhub
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Tibet Autonomous Region
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:China
Subdivision Type1:Autonomous region
Subdivision Name1:Tibet
Subdivision Type2:Prefecture-level city
Subdivision Name2:Lhasa
Seat Type:County seat
Seat:Ganden Chökhor (Lhünzhub)
Area Total Km2:4512
Population As Of:2020
Population Footnotes:[1]
Population Total:50596
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:China Standard
Utc Offset:+8
Coor Pinpoint:Lhünzhub government
Coordinates:29.894°N 91.265°W
Lhünzhub County
S:林周县
T:林周縣
P:Línzhōu Xiàn
Tib:ལྷུན་གྲུབ་རྫོང་།
Wylie:lhun grub rdzong
Zwpy:Lhünzhub Zong
Order:st

Lhünzhub County is a county in Lhasa towards the north-east of the main center of Chengguan, Tibet, China.It covers an area of 4512km2 and as of 2000 had a population of 50,895 people, almost all classified as rural. The southern portion, the Pengbo River Valley, contains fertile arable land, while the colder and more mountainous northern portion primarily supports grazing. The county has many monasteries, including the Reting Monastery.

The county was established as Lhünzhub Dzong in 1857. In 1959, it merged with Pundo Dzong to form the modern Lhünzhub County.

Geography and climate

Lhünzhub County is located in central Tibet around 65km (40miles) northeast of metropolitan Lhasa. It includes the Pengbo River Valley and the upper reaches of the Lhasa River.It covers an area of 4512km2.The county is geologically complex, with an average elevation of . Mineral resources include lead, zinc, copper, silver, gold and gypsum.A spur of the Nyainqêntanglha mountains crosses the whole territory, dividing it into a southern and northern part.

In the south the Pengbo valley has an average elevation of with a mild climate. The average temperature is .The northern "three rivers" section, crossed by the Lhasa River and its tributary the Razheng River, is mountainous and has an average elevation of . It has average annual temperature of and is mostly pastoral, with yak, sheep and goats. Wildlife includes roe deer, white-lipped deer, otter, black-necked crane, duck, Mongolian gazelle, ibex.Medicinal plants and fungi include Cordyceps, Fritillaria, Rhodiola, and Ganoderma lucidum.

Administration divisions

Lhünzhub County has jurisdiction over one town and 9 townships.[2]

NameTibetanChinesePinyin
Town
Ganden Chökhor Town
(Lhünzhub)
Gadainqoikor Chongdai Chinese: 甘丹曲果镇
Townships
Codoi TownshipCodoi Xang Chinese: 春堆乡
Sumchêng TownshipSumchêng Xang Chinese: 松盘乡
Qangka TownshipQangga Xang Chinese: 强嘎乡
Karze TownshipKarzê Xang Chinese: 卡孜乡
Banjorling TownshipBaijorling Xang Chinese: 边交林乡
Jangraxa TownshipJangraxar Xang Chinese: 江热夏乡
Ngarnang TownshipNgarnang Xang Chinese: 阿朗乡
Tanggo TownshipTanggo Xang Chinese: 唐古乡
Pundo TownshipPudo Xang Chinese: 旁多乡

Other settlements

Economy

As of 2000 the county had a total population of 50,895, of which 8,111 lived in a community designated as urban. 2,254 had non-agricultural registration and 48,362 had agricultural registration.The Pengbo valley is the main grain-producing region of Lhasa Municipality and Tibet, with a total of of arable land.Crops include barley, winter wheat, spring wheat, canola and vegetables such as potato.The total output in 1999 was 57,600 tons of grain.

Livestock includes yak, sheep, goats and horses.Yaks graze at altitudes of or more - higher than is practical with cattle.Crop residues are used for winter and spring feed. In 1996 more than 85% of winter and spring feed was straw, mostly barley straw.Linzhou county has been a leading testing and manufacturing center for frozen yak semen, and a center for selective breeding of yaks.Local enterprises prepare Tibetan medicinal plants and process wood products.Ethnic handicrafts are well developed, including weaving and mats.The Pengbo valley has a long history of pottery-making. Products include braziers, flower pots, vases, jugs and so on.

In 2010 the county had a GDP of 839 million yuan, and government revenue was 26.9 million yuan.Investment in fixed assets was 450 million yuan, excluding water conservancy.The per capita income of farmers and herdsmen was 4,587 yuan.Mining was an important source of income, and the government had plans to more actively promote tourism.

Infrastructure

Hutoushan Reservoir lies in Qangka Township.The reservoir is bordered by large swamps and wet meadows, and has abundant plants and shellfish.The Hutuoshan Reservoir in the Pengbo valley is the largest in Tibet, with planned total storage of .Endangered Black-necked cranes migrate to the middle and southern part of Tibet every winter, and may be seen on the reservoir.

There is a small hydropower station in Lhünzhub town.[3] The Pangduo Hydro Power Station became operational in 2014.It impounds the Lhasa River in Pondo Township, about from Lhasa. The reservoir holds of water. The power station has total installed capacity of 160 MW, with four generating units. It has been called the "Tibetan Three Gorges".

The county has three major highways with total length of and twelve rural roads, bringing the total road length to over . The county has a radio and television station. TV coverage is received by 72.1% of the population, and radio by 83.4% of the population. The county has 23 health care establishments, including a County People's Hospital with 30 beds. By the end of 2000 there were 122 medical personnel.

Religion

The county is a center of Tibetan Buddhism.There are thirty-seven gompas including twenty-five lamaseries with 919 monks and twelve nunneries with 844 nuns as of 2011. The breakdown by sect is twenty-six Gelug, six Kagyu and five Sakya.

Reting Monastery is located in Lhünzhub County and was built in 1056 by Dromtön (1005–1064), a student of Atiśa.It was the earliest monastery of the Gedain sect, and the patriarchal seat of that sect.In 1240 a Mongol force sacked the monastery and killed 500 people. The gompa was rebuilt. When the Gedain sect joined the Gelug sect in the 16th century the monastery adopted the reincarnation system.The incarnations are named Reting Rimpoche.Following an attempted rebellion against the Lhasa government in 1947 Reting was imprisoned in the Potala.After he died in May 1947 the monastery was looted and then razed.In recent years a lot of reconstruction work has been done. About 160 monks reside in Reting.

Sources

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 关于发布拉萨市第七次全国人口普查主要数据公报 . Government of Lhasa . zh . 2021-06-10 .
  2. Web site: zh:2022年统计用区划代码和城乡划分代码. http://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/tjbz/tjyqhdmhcxhfdm/2022/54/01/540121.html. National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China. zh.
  3. Book: Daily Report: People's Republic of China . National Technical Information Service . nos. 153-158 . 1994 . 2024-03-14 . 53.