Zayu County, also known as “Dzayul County“, means “a place where people live” in Tibetan.
Location
It is located in the southeastern of Tibet Autonomous Region, with Deqin County of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in east, Gongshan County and Zogang County in east, Medog County in west, Myanmar and India in south, and Bome County and Baxoi County in north.
Zayu County is where Cheng people lives. The southwestern part of this county is actually occupied by India, and the border issue has not been resolved.
The southwest monsoon from the Indian Ocean blows through Zayu County, there are dozens of large and medium rivers with Zayu Chayu River and Nu River as the main branches of Yarlung Tsangbo River. It is with mild climate and beautiful scenery
Best time to travel
From May to October
Local climate
Subtropical mountain humid monsoon climate
Most popular sites
Meili Snow Mountain, located in the eastern part of Zayu County, has a total length of 150 kilometers and extends south to Deqin County of Yunnan province. It is also called Khawa Karpo Snow Mountain in Tibetan areas. The word “Meili” is local Deqin Tibetan dialect of “mainri“, which means mountain of medicine. It is named for the rich variety of precious medicinal materials that grows in this mountain. It is also the holy mountain of Bon religion, and it is regarded as one of the 4 holy mountain in Tibet plateau, the other three are Mt Kailash, Mt Amnye Marchen, and Mt. Gato Jowo
Geography and climate
Zayu County is located on the southeastern edge of the Tibet plateau. It is about 250 kilometers from east to west and 180 kilometers from north to south. The county has a total area of 31,659 square kilometers.
It belongs to alpine valley area of southeastern Tibet in western section of Hengduan Mountains. It is rich in natural resources and its terrain slopes from northwest to southeast with a relative height difference of 3,600 meters.
There are more than 10 peaks above 5,000 meters. The southern edge of the valley in Zayu County is only 1,400 meters above sea level, and the whole county is with an average elevation of 2,800 meters, The county seat is Jigong Village with an elevation of 2,360 meters. The highest altitude is Meili Snow Mountain with 6740 meters above sea level;
Zayu County has long sunshine hours, warm in winter and cool in summer, suitable for the growth of a variety of crops and fruit planting.
Annual sunshine hours are 1616 hours, annual average temperature is 12 degrees Celsius, and rainy season is from March to September.
Annual precipitation is 802 mm and concentrated in April, May and June.
Annual average frost-free period is 280 days. Dulong River flows more than 90 kilometers in the territory with a drainage area of 1,947 square kilometers.
Population and ethnicity
As of end of 2018, the permanent population of Chayu County was 32,000, of which Tibetan population accounted for 98% of total population. The remaining ethnic groups include Han, Naxi, Dulong, Miao, Hui, Monba, Lhoba, Lisu, Nu, etc. People
Brief History
During Tubo period, Zayu was established
In 4th year of Emperor Hongwu of Ming Dynasty (AD 1371), the county was located in Kemai village
In Qing Dynasty(AD 1616 – AD 1912), Kemai County was established, and the county seat was moved to Jigong village
In the 1st year of Republic of China (1912), The county of Zayu area was established
In 1966, it was renamed as Zayu County, and it was under jurisdiction of Chamdo Prefecture.
In 1986, it was placed under jurisdiction of Nyingchi prefecture after After Nyingchi prefecture was restored
In 2015, Nyingchi prefecture was abolished and Nyingchi City was established. Zayu County is under jurisdiction of Nyingchi City since then
