Jomda County was established in 1959 by the merger of Jomda Dzong and Dengke Dzong, it is rich in copper mines. It is located in north of Tibet Autonomous Region and east of Chamdo,
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Location
The county seat is Jomda Town, which is 228 kilometers away from Chamdo, 1170 kilometers away from Lhasa, and 1070 kilometers away from Chengdu
Jomda County connects Sershul County, Derge County, and Pelyul County across the river in east, borders Yushu City in north, Gonjo County in south, and Chamdo City in west;
It is the junction of Sichuan, Qinghai and Tibet, and also the first town to enter Tibet from east. Sichuan-Tibet Highway N317 passes through here.
Best time to travel
From June to October
Local climate
Plateau climate
Most popular sites
Boluojirong Grand Canyon, located at the junction of Tongpu Township and Boluo Township about 25 kilometers away from the county seat. Duoqu River flows east into Jinsha River, a gorge about 5 kilometers along this river, the widest point is about 100 meters, and the narrowest point is only 2.30 meters. In the gorge of the middle of Duoqu River, there are legendary square boulder dice used by King Gesar to play chess, “sky bridge” of Zhumu, and stone carvings of Buddha. There is a cave in the valley halfway up the mountain that is generally difficult to climb. Local people call this cave for Gesar to subdue demons.
Guobu Baizong Mountain is the sacred mountain where Padmasambhava once practiced in. It takes about three hours to make a cora of this mountain; Along route, there are natural landscapes such as Tiger Cave, Gawu Cave, Right-handed Conch, Padmasambhava Meditation Cave, and Buddhism Shrine. Baizong Mountain has beautiful scenery, well-preserved vegetation, and dense forests and bushes to northeast. There is a small monastery on the mountainside, and a cliff on southwest.
Shengqin Langzha Mountain, the first one of the 25 sacred mountains in Kham, is located in Gangtuo Township, about 100 kilometers away from the county seat. The mountain is Large, it takes a day to make a cora on horseback. There are about dozens of scenic spots. Among them, the most popular spots are: monkeys take off their hats, stone statues of Guru Padmasambhava, dragon soaring stone, Padmasambhava Meditation Cave, Karmapa Meditation Cave, Gemapa Ascetic Cave, Rinzin Crystal Cave,
Wara monastery, the largest monastery in Jomda County. It was founded in 1253 AD and belongs to Sakya pa of Tibetan Buddhism. Wara monastery still retains many precious cultural relics, murals, etc., especially the ancient murals of King Gesar with a history of more than 700 years and woodcut “Kanjur“.
Polo Guze has a large forest area and many types of trees. Especially birch which is more rigid. It is a unique tree species here. According to investigation, there are as many as 152 skilled artists in Polo village. The scriptures now in Dege Printing House are mainly masterpieces carved in the area of Polo Guze village. The engraver of Polo Guze village can not only engrave Danjur and Kanjur sutras, but also engrave the very difficult Fengma flag and Buddha images. This place has a long history, a large number of engravers, and a high level of engraving skills, which are rare in other places in Tibet. It is a veritable “land of woodcarving“.
Geography and climate
Jomda County is 286 kilometers from east to west and 327 kilometers from north to south, with a total area of 13,164 square kilometers. It is located in the alpine valley of Hengduan Mountains.
The terrain slopes from northwest to southeast, belonging to valley zone of Jinsha River Basin, with the lowest elevation of 2800 meters and the highest elevation of 5436 meters. Average altitude is about 3800 meters, and a height difference of 2636 meters.
In lower-altitude southeast agricultural zone, a large area of forest grows, and it is a zone where agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry are diversified.
Jomda County has a large annual average temperature difference, strong solar radiation and long sunshine duration;
The highest temperature is 28℃, and the lowest temperature is -15℃.
Annual average temperature is 4.5℃. Average temperature in January is about -5℃, and Average temperature in July is 13.2℃.
Annual average precipitation is 549 mm. Sunshine time is long,
Population and ethnicity
As of 2010, the total population of Jiangda County is 76,026, of which Tibetan population accounts for 98% of total population, in addition, there are other ethnic groups including Han, Hui, Mongolian, Monba, Miao
Brief history
According to research of cultural relics and historical data, humans lived and thrived in Jomda region in ancient times.
As early as 6th century, Bon religion, the traditional religion of Tibetan ancestors, existed in Jomda region
Around the middle of 7th century, Jomda became a possession of Tubo kingdom
Legend has it that at the end of 8th century, when Master Padmasambhava went to “Eluo” (Golog area in Qinghai and northwestern Sichuan) to spread Buddhism, he influenced and reformed Bon religion in northwestern of Kham, and played a major role to accelerated development of fusion of Bon religion and Tibetan Buddhism in this area
After the abolition of Dege Tusi in the early years of Emperor Xuantong of Qing Dynasty(1909), Jomda was placed under Dengke Mansion in West Sichuan.
In 3rd year of Emperor Xuantong of Qing Dynasty(1911), Jomda was reorganized as Tongpu County
In 7th year of Republic of China (1918), Jomda Xi-Lekang was established, and later rebuilt as Jomda Dzong
In 1959, Jomda Dzong and Dengke Dzong merged to form Jomda County
In 2014, Chamdo region was abolished, Chamdo city was established, and Jomda County has been under its jurisdiction since then
