Namling County is a county in northeast of Shigatse City. It means “victory” in Tibetan.
Namling County is located in the south-central of Tibet Autonomous Region, on the north bank of the upper reaches of Yarlung Tsangbo River.
Location
Namling County borders Nyemo County to east, Xaitongmoin County to west, Xainza County and Baingoin County to north, Rinbung County to southeast, and Shigatse City to south across the river.
Namling Town, the county seat, is 4,020 meters above sea level, about 76 kilometers from Shigatse City and 308 kilometers from Lhasa City
Best time to travel
From June to October
Local climate
Plateau temperate semi-arid climate type
Most popular sites
Sewu Monstery belongs to Nyingma pa of Tibetan Buddhism. It is related with Mindrolling monastery in Tsetang. It is 69 kilometers away from county seat and 4700 meters above sea level. The temple has a long history, with a history of more than a thousand years. The temple mainly enshrines Padmasambhava,
Deqen Rebuje Monstery is located in Gabu Village of Namling Town. Established in the 23rd year of Emperor Qianlong of Qing Dynasty (AD 1758), it belongs to Gelug pa of Tibetan Buddhism. It covers an area of 1589 square meters.
Namling Iron Bridge is an important bridge that connects two banks of Xiang River. It was built by Tangtong Gyalpo (1385 AD – 1464 AD) in 15th century. The existing part of the bridge includes bridgeheads on north and south bank of Bridge and the bridge chain across the river. In 1996, Namling Iron Bridge was rated as a cultural relics protection unit of Tibet
Geography and climate
Namling County is located in the valley of eastern section of Gangdis Mountains. It is 98 kilometers from east to west and 110 kilometers from north to south with total area of 8,848 square kilometers, accounting for 4.86% of the area of Shigatse City and 0.74% of the total area of Tibet Autonomous Region.
Its terrain is high in northeast, low in southwest, with undulating mountains on north and south. There are valleys and plains of varying widths in its south. There is a narrow “corridor” from north to south of Xianghe River Basin in its middle
Most areas of Nanmulin County are between 3790-4952 meters above sea level, the highest point is Mount Zongma in northeast with an altitude of 6043 meters, the lowest point is intersection of Xiangchu River and Yarlung Zangbo River with an elevation of 3704 meters and a relative elevation difference of 2339 meters.
The mountainside and river valley extend along north-south direction. The mountains in south are strongly folded, the bedrock is bare;
In north, the mountains stand tall, the valleys are deep, glaciers are developed well in peaks, and there are many icy lakes as well
Namling County has strong solar radiation, large temperature difference between day and night, and obvious dry and wet seasons. Severe drought in winter and spring
Average annual temperature is 6℃, the extreme minimum temperature is -17.7℃, and the extreme maximum temperature is 26.5℃;
The hottest month is July, with an average monthly maximum temperature of 25.3℃; The coldest month is January, with an average monthly minimum temperature of -15.7°C.
The annual rainfall is 250-470mm with concentrated rainy season from June to September.
Dry season is from October to May of the following year;
Frost-free period is 95-125 days, and the maximum frozen soil layer is 500-700mm.
Population and ethnicity
As of end of 2013, the total population of Namling County was 76,235, of which Tibetan population accounted for 97% of total population, and the remaining ethnic groups included Han, Mongolian, Hui and other ethnic groups.
Brief History
During Tubo Kingdom, the area of Namling was called Tashitse, and later it was called “Shangba“, that is, one of the 6 Wanhu (ten thousand households) in “Tsang”
In early Qing Dynasty, Namling Zong was established
In 1960, Namling County was established, under jurisdiction of Shigatse Prefecture
In 2014, Shigatse Prefecture was abolished and the prefecture-level Shigatse City was established, and Namling County has been under jurisdiction of Shigatse City since then
