Baxoi County is also known as “Basu County ” in Chinese Pinyin, OR “Pasho County” in Tibetan. “Baxoi County” in Tibetan means “The village at the foot of Warrior Mountain“, it is a county of Chamdo City.
The county is 210 kilometers from north to south and 80 kilometers from east to west covering an area of 12564 square kilometers.
Location
Baxoi County is located in the east of Tibet Autonomous Region, southeast of Changdu City, and the upper reaches of the Nu River. The county seat of Baima Town is 3260 meters above sea level.
It borders Zogang County and Zhagyab County to east, Zayu County to south, Lhorong County and Bome County to west, and Karuo District and Riwoqe County in north.
Hengduan Mountains is in the southwest of Baxoi County and Nu River in northeast. Baima Town, the county seat, is 266 kilometers away from Karuo District, where the Chamdo government is located, and 861 kilometers away from Lhasa.
Best time to travel
From May to October
Local climate
Plateau temperate semi-arid monsoon climate
Most popular sites
Ranwu (Rawok) Lake, located 90 kilometers southwest of the county seat, passes along the lake by National Highway 318. It is the main source of Palong Zangbo, a tributary of the Yarlung Zangbo River. The lake covers an area of 22 square kilometers, with a water storage capacity of 140 million cubic meters, and an altitude of 3850 meters. Ranwu Lake is divided into upper, middle and lower sections. The upper section above Kangsha is called Angong Lake, with an area of about 6 square kilometers, and the middle and lower section from Kangsha to Ranwu Village is the main body of Ranwu Lake with an area of 16 square kilometers. The entire lake is river-shaped, with a total length of 29 kilometers, an average width of 0.8 kilometers, and a circumference of 60 kilometers. There is Lagu Glacier on the north side of the lake. The glacier extends to the lake. When the ice and snow melt, snow water is injected into the lake to ensure sufficient of water.
Bangda Grassland is located in the northeastern part of the county with an altitude of 4,300 meters. The grassland is plentiful with water and grass, cattle and sheep flocks. The Yuqu River runs through the grassland from west to east, and theBangda Airport is built in the middle of the grassland.
Tongka Monastery, also known as Baxoi Temple, its full name is “Sangdru Dechenling“. It was founded by one disciple of Tsongkhapa in 1473 AD with history of more than 500 years. It is located at Tongka Township which is about 250 kilometers away from Baxoi County. Its altitude is 4171 meters, the monastery is surrounded by mountains, and there is only a road leading to the temple. It is a sub- monastery of Kundeling Monastery, belong to Gelug pa of Tibetan Buddhism
Geography and climate
Baxoi is a high mountain valley in the Three Rivers’ Basin, which can be divided into 3 natural areas:
-1), The Bangda area which is south of Qamdo is an area with higher altitude, it is regarded as a plateau continental area;
-2), The Nujiang River Basin, whcih extends to Zuogong County, is regarded as a transitional area between mountains and valleys;
-3), The rest of the areas, which are surrounded by mountains and valleys, are regarded as a high mountain valley area.
The main mountain range in the territory is Hengduan Mountain which goes from north to south. The main peaks include Chudanzhen Mountain in the north, with altitude of 5971 meters above sea level;
Laqiong Mountain in the northwest, with altitude of 4700 meters above sea level; and Ranwu Lake area in the south, which is the junction of the eastern section of the Nyainqentanglha Mountain Range and the Bosula Range of the Hengduan Mountain Range.
There are deep valleys and many glaciers. The county is a long and narrow terrain, extending from north to south, and the terrain slopes from northeast to southwest
The main rivers of Baxoi County include the Nu River and its tributaries, with a total length of 1,737 kilometers. Nu River enters Baxoi from the northwest, passes through the middle of the county, and flows from north to south in the mountains and valleys. The river is curved and narrow, the valley is deep, the drop is large, the current is rapid, the length of the river in Baxoi county is 127 kilometers, and annual runoff is 3.3 billion cubic meters.
Baxoi County has plenty of sunshine, with distinct dry and rainy seasons. Annual frost-free period is 162 days and annual precipitation is 233 mm.
With increase in altitude and geographical location, three different vertical climatic zones, namely the canyon warm temperate zone, plateau temperate zone, and plateau cold temperate zone appear in sequence.
Due to high mountains and deep valleys, the vertical difference in climate is obvious, and annual average temperature is 10.4℃. Average temperature in January is 0℃, and average temperature in July is 19.2℃. Average daily temperature is above 5℃ for 244 days, and above 0℃ lasts for 321 days.
Population and ethnicity
As of 2010, Baxoi County had a population of 39,021 people. Among them, Tibetans account for 99%; Han nationality accounts for 0.77%; and Hui, Miao, Bai, Naxi, Nu and other ethnic minorities account for 0.04%.
