Qusum County, also known as “Chusum County“, is a county subordinate to Shannan City; it means “three rivers” in Tibetan. As Sebu River, Jiangzha River and Gongbu River run through the county, Tibetan transliteration of these three rivers is “Qusum “, hence, the county gets its name
Location
Qusum County is located in southern of Tibet Autonomous Region, on south bank of Yarlung Tsangbo River. It used to be called Lagari(Lhagyari) County and was renamed Qusum County in November 1965
Qusum County borders Sangri County in north, Lhunze County in south, Gyaca County in east, and Nedong District in west.
Zhuokang is county seat of Qusum County with altitude of 3896 meters above sea level, about 217 kilometers from Lhasa City, 154 kilometers from Lhasa Gongga Airport, and 58 kilometers from Tsetang town
Best travel time
From May to October
Local climate
Plateau temperate semi-arid monsoon climate zone
Most popular sites
Lagari Palace Ruin, also known as “Lhagyari Palace Ruin“, is a palace complex located on the south side of Qusum County. It is a symbol of royal power retained by family forces of Tubo royal family descendants after going through Sakya regime and Phagmo Drupa Regime
The existing buildings can be divided into early, middle and late phases.
—The early building was called “Tashi Qunzong” in Tibetan. It was built in 13th century, and the remaining are of the palace wall with a height of 12 meters and North and South gates
—The mid-term building is called “Ganden Lhatse” in Tibetan. It was built in 15th century; it is the main existing building of Lagari Palace Ruins. It consists of palace, warehouses, Lhakhang, square, stables, etc. It was originally 5 floors and is now in existence 3 floors. Some murals still remain;
—The late building was called “Summer Palace” and was built in the 18th century. The existing part is a basically complete courtyard palace.
Soil Forest, There are many soil forest landscapes in Qusum county, mainly distributed along Qusum River Valley. It is only soil forest landform in Tibet besides Zanda county of Ngari prefecture. The soil forest landforms in Qusum have been washed by wind and rain all year round, and landform wonders of various shapes and forms are transformed into grand scenes.
Baiyu Canyon, located in Luobusa town on south bank of Yarlung Tsangbo River, is a primitive ecological scenic spot in alpine valley. Surrounded by mountains in canyon, lush vegetation, mild climate and good ecological environment
Yuru Monastery, also known as “Eyul Monastery“, is located at northern foot of Xiangkara Mountain in Qusum County. Built on the cliff, it was originally a three-story building. The lower two floors are equipped with cultivating caves, which can accommodate monks who come to practice. The third floor was meditating cave. It is now only two floor existed
Rigo Chode Monastery is located on the terrace on south side of Qusum county seat. It was built in 1473 AD, near Lagari（Lhagyari） Palace. Historically, it was presided over by King of Lagari. It is the first Gelug pa monastery in Lagari area. The current Rigo Chode Monastery was rebuilt in 1986.
Geography and climate
Qusum County is located in the middle valley of Yarlung Tsangbo River, surrounded by high mountains and narrow river valleys. Its average altitude is above 4200 meters.
Qusum County is mainly divided into 3 geomorphic areas
–North: The deep valley area of Yarlung Tsangbo River
–Middle: The mountain and valley area
–South: The high mountains
The high mountains in south are located at junction of Hengduan Mountains and plains with elevations all above 4,400 meters. The main peaks are mostly over 5,000 meters, and the highest point is 6647 meters above sea level.
In the Middle of mountain and valley area, most are below 4100 meters;
The northern Yarlung Tsangbo River valley area is about 3,200 meters above sea level. The vertical height difference is 2748 meters. The topography of the county is high in south and low in north, and high in west and low in east.
Qusum County has sufficient sunlight, strong radiation, large daily temperature difference, strong winds in winter and spring, concentrated rain in summer, and mostly night rain.
It is with an average annual temperature of 8.7 degrees, 2920 hours of sunshine, 479 mm of annual precipitation, and an annual frost-free period of about 110 days.
Population and ethnicity
As of 2011, Qusum County has a total population of 16,309 people, of which Tibetans account for 99.6% of total population, in addition to Han, Miao and Hui people
Brief History
At the end of 10th century, a branch of original Tubo royal family established Yalong Juewo regime in Yarlong River Valley. At that time, the surrounding small feudal lords were actually small nobles under Lagari(Lhagyari). From the middle of 12th century to 1956, There has been basically no major change in this pattern in Lagari(Lhagyari)
In 1246 AD, Lagari(Lhagyari) and the entire Tibet formally became a territory of Yuan Dynasty(AD 1271-AD 1368).
In the middle of 13th century, when Sakya regime was prosperous, Lagari(Lhagyari) was ruled by Sakya regime
In the middle of 14th century, Sakya regime was overthrown, and Phagmo Drupa Regime of Kagyu pa was established. Even Lagari(Lhagyari) area was governed by Phagmo Drupa Regime, however, it still insisted on political independence
At the beginning of 15th century, Gelug pa of Tibetan Buddhism rose, with efforts of subsequent generations of “Chichin“, Lagari’s power has been further consolidated and strengthened.
In 1646 AD, the 5th Dalai Lama visited King Lagari（Lhagyari）and approved the hereditary right of King Lagari to rule this area. All matters concerning Lagari area were handled by King Lagari himself. Although the three “Chichen” were unified Under Ganden Podrang regime, but still separate sides, maintaining a certain degree of independence in politics.
During the period of 13th Dalai Lama (1878 AD -1933 AD), 4 Zong were set up including “Lagari Zong”, “Sangri Zong”, “Gyaca Zong”,”Lhunze Zong” in the area of Lagari(Lhagyari)
In 1956, Lagari Zong was renamed Lagarri County.
In 1965, Lagari County was renamed Qusum County and was under jurisdiction of Shannan Prefecture
In 2016, Shannan Prefecture was abolished, and prefecture-level Shannan City was established, and Qusum County was under jurisdiction of Shannan City.
