Gongga County, also spelled as “Gongkar County“, is a county under Shannan City. Gongga means “the village behind the white mountain, and the top of the mountain is white” in Tibetan
Location
Gongga County is located in southern Tibet. Gongga county seat is Jixiong Town, 3570 meters above sea level; it is bordered by Zhanang County in east, Nagarze County in south, Qushui County in northwest, and Doilungdeqen District and Chengguan District of Lhasa City in north.
Gongga County is where Lhasa Gonggar Airport is located, it is 73 km away from Lhasa City, 237 km away from Shigatse City, and 87 km away from Nedong District
Best time to travel
From June to October
Local climate
Plateau temperate semi-arid monsoon climate zone
Most popular sites
Chuguori Mountain is one of the four sacred mountains of Tibetan Buddhism. It is said to be the source of happiness of Tibetan.
Dojizha monastery, also known as “Dorje Drak Monastery“, located in Changguo Township on the north bank of Yarlung Tsangbo river. It was built in 1718 AD, and it is an important monastery of Nyingma pa (that is, the Red Sect).
Gongga Chode Monastery is located in Gongga County, beside the highway from Lhasa to Gongga Airport. It is one of the well-known monasteries of Sakya school, was founded in 1464 AD
Geography and climate
Gongga County is located in northwest of Shannan City. It is 74 kilometers from east to west and 62 kilometers from north to south, covering an area of 2,386 square kilometers.
Gongga County is in the middle reaches of Yarlung Tsangbo River valley area. It is dominated by high mountains and valleys, and the rest is small lake basins with complex geological structures.
Its terrain is high in west and low in east. The highest elevation is 5438 meters, the lowest elevation is 3546 meters, its relative elevation difference is 1890 meters, and the average elevation is 3750 meters.
The climate of Gongga County is unclear in four seasons, and the frost-free period is short, with an average of about 142 days per year.
Annual average temperature is 8.6℃, the extreme maximum temperature is 30.2℃, and the extreme minimum temperature is -17.0℃.
Annual precipitation is small, with an average annual precipitation of 392 mm concentrated in June to September. Sunshine hour is 3171 hours,
Population and ethnicity
As of 2000, the total population of Gongga County was 44,624, of which Tibetan population accounted for 89% of total population, in addition to the Han, Hui, Mongolian, Miao, Monba, Tujia and other ethnic groups.
Brief History
In 13th century, it was under jurisdiction of Cai Ma Wanhu.
In 14th century, Yuan Dynasty(AD 1271-AD 1368) authorized Phagmo Drupa Regime to take over local affairs of Tibet, and then Gongga Zong was established. Later, it was under jurisdiction of Kashag regime, and Gongga Zong was placed under Shannan Jiqiao (Jiqiao is an administrative name).
In 1959, Gongga Zong and Jed Xiudui were merged to establish Gongga County, which was now under jurisdiction of Shannan Prefecture.
In 2016, Shannan Prefecture was abolished, and prefecture-level Shannan City was established, and Gongga County has been under its jurisdiction since then
