Chengguan District is municipal district and seat of of Lhasa City, it is 31 kilometers from north to south and 28 kilometers from east to west.
Location
Chengguan District is located in the middle reaches of Lhasa River, a tributary of Yarlung Tsangbo River, with an altitude of 3650 meters and an area of 523 square kilometers. It is one of the highest cities in China. Since the annual sunshine hours are more than 3000 hours, therefore it is called “Sunlight City“.
It is adjacent to Dagze District in east, Lhunzhub County in north, Doilung Deqen District and Nyemo County in west, Qushui County, Gongga County and Zhanang County in south.
Best time to travel
All year around
Local climate
Plateau temperate semi-arid monsoon climate zone
Most popular sites
Potala Palace, built in 7th century, was built by Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo for Tang Dynasty’s Princess Wencheng who married him. Potala Palace is located in the center of Lhasa. Its highest point is 3,767 meters above sea level. It is also the highest ancient palace in China. From entrance to the top of the Palace, there are more than 900 stone steps.
Potala Palace is composed of two parts: Red Palace and White Palace.
Red Palace is in the center, and White Palace traverses the two wings. The red and white buildings overlap each other. It is a magnificent building integrating palaces, castles, mausoleums and monasteries.
Jokhang Temple was built in the heyday of Tubo kingdom in 7th century. It is the most splendid Tubo building in Tibet and the oldest civil-wood structure in Tibet, creating a Tibetan-style flat-style monastry layout. Jokhang Temple combines the architectural styles of Tibet, mainland China, Nepal, and India, and it has become a classical model of Tibetan religious architecture.
Norbulingka, located in western outskirts of Lhasa, it was built in 18th century. The building is mainly composed of Gesang Pozhang, Golden Pozhang, and Daden Mingjiu Pozhang. It has 374 rooms and it is the largest man-made garden and the best garden with the most historical sites in Tibet
Norbulingka has doors on all sides, the one in east is main entrance. Kang Song Si Lun is the most eye-catching attic on the front. It was originally a small wooden pavilion in Chinese style, which was later refurbished into a theater for watching theaters. To the east, an open space for performances was added for the Dalai Lama to watch theaters. Next to it is Xiapudian Lakhang, a place for religious ceremonies. On its north side, there are offices and conference rooms of former Kasha government.
Geography and climate
Chengguan District is the only county-level administrative district in Lhasa. Located in the plain area of the middle reaches of the Lhasa River, a tributary of the Yarlung Zangbo River, the terrain is high in north and south, and low in middle.
Chengguan District has many sunny weather throughout the year and little rainfall. It belongs to the plateau temperate semi-arid climate.
Annual maximum temperature is 29.6°C and the minimum temperature is minus 16.5°C. Annual average temperature is 8°C,
Annual rainfall is about 500 mm, which is concentrated in July, August and September, with many night rains. Summer is not cool, winter is not severe cold
Population and ethnicity
As of 2013, the total population of Chengguan District was 279,074, of which 75% were Tibetans, 22% were Hans, and other ethnic groups included Hui, Manchu, Mongolian, Zhuang, Miao, Yao, Tujia, Korean, Yi, Yugu, Uygur, Dong, Xibe, Buyi, Tu, Russian, Daur, Hani and Oroqen people
Brief History
Around the end of 6th century and the end of 7th century, Tubo Dynasty, the Yalong tribe, which rose in Shannan area, expanded to northern Lhasa. When Songtsen Gampo‘s father Namri Lontsan ruled, with the cooperation of other families, he lead his army taking over the area of Chengguan district of Lhasa.
In 633 AD, Songtsen Gampo established a powerful Tubo Empire in Lhasa.
In 13th century, Yuan Dynasty incorporated Chengguan District of Lhasa into a unified territory.
The central governments of Yuan and Ming Dynasties successively supported Sakya regime and Pazhuo regime in Chengguan District
In 1960, Lhasa City was officially established
In 1961, Chengguan District of Lhasa City was established.
