Lhari County is a county in Nagqu City, “Lhari” means “sacred mountain” in Tibetan.
Location
It is about 211 kilometers away from Nagqu City and 537 kilometers away from Lhasa City. The county seat is Aza Town with altitude of 4488 meters above sea level
Lhari County has an average elevation of 4,500 meters and is located in southeast of Nagqu City, between Tanggula Mountain and Nyainqentanglha Mountain.
It is adjacent to Banbar County and Bome County in east, Damxung County and Lhunzhub County, Maizhokunggar County and Gongbo Gyamda County to south, Nagqu City to west, and Biru County to north.
Best time to travel
From May to September
Local climate
Plateau continental climate
Most popular sites
Jianai Yutso Lake, a mysterious “holy lake” to local people, is a lake of wisdom and life. it is said thay this lake is also the lake of life of Three Saints of the West, which is also the residence of Manjushri. If to watch the lake from a distance, it is possible that you may see your past or the future.
Shangniwu Canyon is about 75 kilometers away from Zhongyu Township. In this canyon, you can enjoy the magnificent Rochella Snow Mountain and Rochella Glacier. Go straight to depth of canyon and watch Yiga Glacier and Yiga Waterfall near Yiga Village. The drop of Yiga Waterfall is about 50 meters or more
Geography and climate
Lhari County has a total area of 13,238 square kilometers, including 4613 mu of arable land and 342,000 mu of woodland. It belongs to plateau mountainous area that combines northern Tibet plateau and eastern Tibet alpine valley. Its terrain is high in northwest and low in southeast.
The eastern part of Lhari County has a unqiue climate:
Due to the warm and humid air currents from Indian Ocean travel north along lower reaches of Yarlung Tsangbo River, after the big turn of Yarlung Tsangbo River, most of warm and humid air flow will flow up Yigong Tsangbo River Valley and reach southern foot of Nyainqentanglha Mountain Range in Lhari County, transporting a lot of precious water to Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
So that this place is abundant rain and humid air, the top of the mountain is white snow that never melts, the mountainside is densely forested, and the foot of mountain is evergreen mountainous area.
The northern part of Lhari County is cold, with large daily temperature difference and frequent snowfall in winter. It is one of central snowfall areas in northern Tibet, and there is no absolute frost-free period throughout a year.
Annual average temperature is -0.21℃. average temperature in January is -12 degrees, average temperature in July is 8 degrees, and annual precipitation is 695.5 mm. annual sunshine hours are 2405 hours,
Population and ethnic groups
As of end of 2014, Lhari County has a total population of 31,538 people, of which Tibetans account for 99% of the total population. Other ethnic groups include Han, Hui, Mongolian, etc.
Brief history
In the early years of Republic of China, Kashag regime established Lhari Zong
In 1959, Lhari Zong was changed to Lhari County.
In 1960, Lhari County was under jurisdiction of Nyingchi Special Administration.
In 1964, Nyingchi Special Administration was revoked, and Lhari County was placed under jurisdiction of Nagqu Administrative District.
In 1970, Nagqu Administrative District was renamed as Nagqu Prefecture, and then Biru County was under jurisdiction of Nagqu Prefecture
In 1989, The county seat was moved from Dhamma to Aza Town
In 2017, Nagqu Prefecture was abolished, and Nagqu City was established; Lhari County has been under jurisdiction of Nagqu City until now
