Qushui County, also known as “Quxu County” OR “Chushul County“, means “where the rivers meet” in Tibetan. It is a county of Lhasa City with location at the lower reaches of the Lhasa River, on the north bank of the middle reaches of the Yarlung Tsangbo River.
Location
It is an important transportation hub connecting Lhasa, Shannan, Nyingchi and Shigatse. The county seat is Qushui Town, with an altitude of 3588 meters, about 65 kilometers away from Lhasa City
Qushui County is connected with Nagarze County and Gongga County across the river in south, and it borders Nyemo County and Damxung County to west and northwest, and Doilungdeqen district to north and northeast
Best time to travel
From May to October
Local climate
Plateau temperate semi-arid climate
Most popular sites
Xiongse Temple, also known as “Nyiphu Shugseb Nunnery“, is located in Nyibu Redui Village, on the hillside on the south bank of Lhasa River with an altitude of more than 4100 meters. The airport highway passes by. It is about 43 kilometers away from Lhasa city and 44 kilometers away from Qushui Town. The main offering Buddha of Xiongse Temple is Padmasambhava. It is the only temple with living Buddha in Qushui County, and one of the largest nunnery in Tibet. It was restored and reopened in 1984, and its building are all well preserved.
Taohua Village, located 30 kilometers west of Qushui Town, is named after the peach blossoms. The whole village is in between deep mountains and valleys. Due to its geographical location, a moist and comfortable small environment is formed in the valley with suitable climate and beautiful scenery. The village has a vegetation coverage rate of 30%, more than 20,000 acres of shrubs, and a wide variety of species, mainly including poplar, long-stamen willow, alpine cypress, and other tree species.
Geography and climate
Qushui County is located in the southwest of Lhasa City, on the wide valley of Qushui where the lower reaches of Lhasa River meets the middle reaches of Yarlung Zangbo River. The county is 68 kilometers from east to west, 40 kilometers from north to south, with a total area of 1,680 square kilometers.
The land of Qushui County is mostly flat. The lowest elevation is 3501 meters, and the highest peak is 5895 meters. The whole terrain is slightly higher in east and west, and the intersection of Lhasa and Yarlung Zangbo rivers in the middle is the lowest spot
A branch of Nyainqentanglha Mountain runs to the north of Qushui County,and on its southern slope, 7 meandering streams with length of 5-20 kilometers long flow and merge into Lhasa River and Yarlung Zangbo River.
Annual average temperature in Qushui County is 7.5℃, the extreme maximum temperature is 29.4℃; the monthly average maximum temperature is 22.5℃ (June). The extreme minimum temperature is -16.5℃. The monthly average minimum temperature is -10.2℃ (January).
The average daily range is 14.5℃, annual average relative humidity is 45%, the minimum relative humidity is zero, and annual average precipitation is 4,438 mm. The maximum daily precipitation is 416 mm, which is mainly concentrated in May-September, and accounting for more than 85% of annual precipitation. The annual average evaporation is 2206 mm, which is about 5 times more than precipitation. Annual average sunshine hours are 3000 hours.
Population and ethnicity
As of the end of 2018, Qushui County had a total population of 37,290, of which Tibetans accounted for 97% of total population. The remaining ethnic groups included Han, Hui, Miao, Yi, Manchu, Tujia, Buyi, Dai
Brief history
At the beginning of 7th century, it was “Jiru Jiang’e” state (one of the 12 states in ancient Tibet)
In the first half of 7th century, Songtsen Gampo unified U-Tsang, established a new administrative organization, and divided the entire territory of Tubo into five “Ru“. The “Wei Ru” was established with present-day Lhasa as the center, the area of Qushui County was under its jurisdiction
In the middle of 9th century, Tubo Kingdom collapsed and most of Qushui was under rule of Prince Yundan
In 13th century, after the establishment of Yuan Dynasty(AD 1271-AD 1368), “Dbus-Gtsang Itinerant High Commandery” was established to manage military and political affairs in Tibetan areas. At the same time, the central government supports Sakya pa of Tibetan Buddhism to establish a local government in Tibet. The area of Qushui County was under the jurisdiction of Sakya regime.
In 1450s, Sakya regime was overthrown by Kagyu Pamudrukpa Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, and the area of Qushui County was under jurisdiction of Phagmo Drupa Regime
In the first half of 15th century, Tsangpa regime raised, and Qushui was under the jurisdiction of Tsangpa regime.
In 15th year of Emperor Chongzhen of Ming Dynasty (AD 1642), the 5th Dalai Lama established Ganden Phodrang regime in Lhasa, and Qushui Zong was established for the first time.
In 1959, Qushui County was officially established
