Kangmar County

Kangmar County, also known as “Khangmar County“, is a county in the east of Shigatse City; it means “Red House” in Tibetan. It is a semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral border county dominated by animal husbandry.

Location

It is in the northern foot of Himalayas, 140 kilometers away from Shigatse City, and 280 kilometers away from Lhasa City,

It borders Bhutan Kingdom with a border line of 78 kilometers long, It also borders Yadong County, Bainang County, Gyangtse County, and Nagarze County.

Most popular sites

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Naining Chode is also known as “Nenying Monastery“. It is located in Nanni Township of Kangmar County, with an altitude of 4100 meters and a total construction area of 63185 square meters. It was founded in 815 AD – 841 AD, belonging to Gelug pa of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also birthplace of the Tibetan opera “Langsa Werp”. In June 1995, it was rated as a cultural relic protection unit of Tibet

Zangtsa Monastery, was founded in the early 19^th century. It is a branch of Gyangtse Palcho Monastery, belonging to the Gelug pa of Tibetan Buddhism. Zangtsa Monastery covers an area of about 600 square meters, including halls and courtyards. Its hall is 4 stories high, the lower part is Sutra hall. The center of the back of Sutra hall is assembly hall, and the two sides are warehouses. The second floor of the main hall was destroyed during the “Cultural Revolution”. Then it was rebuilt after 1986 with an area of 1197 square meters. The south is the bedroom of Abbot, the east is Dharma protector hall, and the west is Dolma Lakhang.

Aiwang Monastery, was founded in Tubo Dynasty (8^th-9^th century) and covers an area of 925 square meters. The wall is rectangular, with 108 stone towers on the wall, and a 9-meter-wide gate opens in the middle of north. The layout of the hall inside the wall is a “convex” shape, and a 1.3-meter-wide corridor is formed between hall and wall. In June 1995, it was rated as a cultural relic protection unit of Tibet

Tsamar Temple is located in Lekang Village of Kangmar County, 35 kilometers away from the county seat and 4300 meters above sea level. It was founded in 1497 AD and belongs to Nyingma pa of Tibetan Buddhism, mainly worshiping Padmasambhava. The temple is composed of 8 sub-temples. There are many precious statues of Nyingma Lama made of gold and copper, as well as various pagodas and precious Buddha statues, most of which were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. The main religious activity was Mountain Cora Festival that is held on the 4^th day of 6^th Month in Tibetan calendar every year.

Geography and climate

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Kangmar County is located in southern Tibet Plateau and belongs to topography of Yarlung Tsangbo River Valley.

Its terrain is high in east and west and low in middle. The lowest township is 4100 meters and the highest township is 4500 meters. The altitude difference is only 300-400 meters, and with average elevation of 4,300 meters

Kangmar County belongs to plateau temperate semi-arid monsoon climate zone, with distinct dry and wet seasons, sufficient sunshine, concentrated rain, annual precipitation of about 300 mm, annual sunshine hours of about 3200 hours, and annual frost-free period of about 110 days.

Population and ethnicity

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As of 2013, the total population of Kangmar County was 34,000, including ethnic minorities such as Han, Hui, and Tibetan. Tibetans accounted for 99% of total population. Among them, population of agricultural and pastoral areas accounted for 93% of total population.

Brief History

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Kangmar was part of Gyantse Dzong under jurisdiction of Kashag regime

In 1951, Kangmar was under jurisdiction of Gyantse County.

In 1960, Kangmar County was established under jurisdiction of Gyantse Prefecture.

In 1964, Gyantse Prefecture was abolished, and Kangmar County was placed under jurisdiction of Shigatse Prefecture.

In 2014, Shigatse Prefecture was abolished and the prefecture-level Shigatse City was established, and Kangmar County has been under jurisdiction of Shigatse City since then