Gyaca County, also known as “Gyatsa County“, is a county under Shannan City. Gyaca means “the salt of the Han nationality” in Tibetan.
There are festivals almost every month, in addition to traditional folk festivals, there are also a lot of religious events. It is a must of coming to Lhamo Latso Lake of Gyaca County to determine the direction of finding the reincarnated boys of Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama by observing this lake, and people who are destined may see their past and future lives in this lake as well
Location
Gyaca County is located in the southeast of Tibet Autonomous Region, on the middle reaches of Yarlung Tsangbo River. The whole county is scattered on north and south banks of Yarlung Tsangbo River.
It borders Nang County and Gongbo Gyamda County of Nyingchi to east and north; Sangri County and Qusum County to west; and Lhunze County to south.
Anrao Town, the county seat, is 3240 meters above sea level, 160 kilometers away from Tsetang Town and 350 kilometers away from Lhasa City.
Best time to travel
From May to October
Local climate
Temperate plateau semi-arid monsoon climate
Most popular sites
Chokhorgyel Monastery is located in Cuijiu (Tselgyu) Township on the only way to Lhamo Latso Lake. It was built in 1509 by the 2nd Dalai Lama, and being enlarged by the 5th Dalai Lama to form a huge building complex covering an area of 4,000 square meters. From here, it takes about 4-5 hours to reach Lhamo Latso Lake on foot. After undergoing renovation and expansion on behalf of Dalai Lamas, Chokhorgyel Monastery has gradually become one of summer palaces of Dalai Lama, and also known as the second palace of Dalai Lama.
Lhamo Latso Lake, with an area of about 1 square kilometer, resembles a skull-shaped mirror. It means “a fairy lake hanging in the sky” in Tibetan. It is a sacred place for monks to look for reincarnated children, and it is also a holy mirror for countless good men and women to explore the fate of life.
Dala Gangpo Monastery, also known as “Daklha Gampo Monastery“, is located on the top of Dalagangpo Mountain, about 4 kilometers northwest of Jixiang, east of Gyaca county seat, about 4150 meters above sea level. Abbreviated as “Gangpo Monastery”, it is the ancestral monastery of Dabo Kagyu Sect, and being found in 1121 AD
Geography and climate
Gyaca County is 102 kilometers from north to south and 88 kilometers from east to west, with a total area of 4646 square kilometers.
Gyaca County is located in depression zone of Gangdise Mountains, Nyainqentanglha Mountains and Himalayas tectonic units. There are 180 peaks above 5000 meters above sea level in this county.
Its topography is divided into Himalayan Alpine Subregional Multi-River Zone, its terrain is higher in west and lower in east. It has an average elevation of about 4000 meters, and Yarlung Tsangbo River valley is between 3,100 and 3,500 meters.
Gyaca County has sufficient sunlight, strong radiation, large daily temperature difference, concentrated rainy season, dry and windy winter and spring. The annual average temperature is 8.9℃, the annual sunshine is 2750 hours, the average annual precipitation is 492.7 mm, concentrated in May, accounting for 93% of the annual precipitation, and the frost-free period is 149 days.
Population and ethnicity
As of 2012, there were 21,608 people in Gyaca County. Among them, Tibetans account for 98.5% of total population, and a small number of Han, Hui, Luoba, and Monba people
Brief History
In 7th century, Tibet King Songtsen Gampo established Tubo kingdom, Gyaca area was put under jurisdiction of “Yo Ru” (“Ru” is an administrative name)
In 9th century, Tubo kingdom fell apart and a feudal separatist regime was formed in Gyaca area.
During “the later dissemination” of Tibetan Buddhism, Nyingma pa first appeared in Gyaca area
In the first half of 12th century, Dabo Kagyu Sect founded Daklha Gampo Monastery in Daklha Gampo Mountain of Gyaca, where it formed fundamental dojo of Dabo Kagyu, and gradually developed into “Four Big and Eight Small” branches of Dabo Kagyu
From 13th century to 16th century, Yuan Dynasty(AD 1271-AD 1368) and Ming Dynasty(AD 1368-AD 1644) established administrative institutions in Tibet to strengthen their rule. Among the “13 Wanhu households” set up in Yuan Dynasty, Gyaca area was under jurisdiction of “Yalibusiba Wanhu”
During the regin of Phagmo Drupa Regime of Ming Dynasty(AD 1368-AD 1644), Gyaca area was under jurisdiction of “Dagal buzhai“.
After 17th century, Tibetan local government established Gyaca Zong and Lasui Zong in Gyaca area, and this system was carried forward until 1959.
In 1951, Gyaca office and Lasui office were set up
In 1959, Gyaca and Lasui were merged to form Gyaca County, which was placed under jurisdiction of Shannan Prefecture.
In 2016, Shannan Prefecture was abolished, and prefecture-level Shannan City was established, and Gyaca County has been under jurisdiction of Shannan City.
