Damxung County

File:Damxung County sketch map png.png

Sketch map showing rivers. Many of the Lhasa River tributaries rise in Damxung.

Damxung is a county of Lhasa City, lying to the north of its main center of Chengguan, in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Its administrative seat is Damquka. The terrain is rugged, including the western Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains, with their highest peak rising to . As of 2013 the population was 40,000, with most of the people engaged in animal husbandry.

History

Damxung means "select pasture" in the Tibetan language.Template:Sfn The Damxung steppe was gifted by the 5th Dalai Lama to Güshi Khan during the latter's reign. A number of Mongol cavalry soldiers settled down in the area, who became known as Mongol Eight Banners of Dam. After Güshi Khan's death in 1679, the area was possessed by Ngakpa Tratsang of Sera Monastery. From 1715 to 1912, the former Mongol Eight Banners land was directly administered by the Qing Dynasty Amban. Following the Qing's collapse, the area once again came under possession of Sera Monastery, which established Damxung Dzong under Domê Chikyab (mdo smad spyi khyab, "Domê Governorate"), predecessor of the modern Chamdo Prefecture. In 1956, the county was transferred to Lhasa City. In 1959, Petsang and Yangbajain merged into Damxung to form the modern Damxung County.Template:Sfn

Geography

The county has an area of , with rugged topography.Template:Sfn Damxung is long and narrow, measuring from the northeast to southwest extremes, and at most Template:Cvt.Template:Sfn The county is tectonically active and was the epicenter of a 7.5M_w earthquake in the north in 1952 and a 6.4 M_w earthquake in the south in 2008. In November 2010 a moderate quake in Damxung at 5.2 on the Richter scale shook office windows in Lhasa. There were no casualties, but houses were damaged.Template:Sfn

In the extreme northeast of the county, Namtso lake has an area of , of which 45% lies in Damxung county. Namtso is one of the great lakes of the Tibetan plateau. The Nyenchen Tanglha (or Nyainqentanglha) mountains extend along the northwest of the county. Mount Nyenchen Tanglha is the highest peak in the region, at . The Nyainqêntanglha mountains define the watershed between northern and southern Tibet. A valley with elevation of about runs parallel to the mountains to their southeast, sloping from northwest to southeast. 30% of the county's total area is in the prairie of this valley.Template:Sfn

Climate

Damxung is cold and dry in the winter, cool and wet in summer, with very variable weather. The average annual temperature is , with only 62 frost-free days. The land is frozen from the start of November to the following March. Pasture has 90–120 days for growth. Average annual precipitation is .Template:Sfn

Administration

Damxung County is divided into two towns and six townships. The seat of government is in Dangquka.

Name	Tibetan	Tibetan Pinyin	Chinese	Pinyin
Towns
Damquka Town	Template:Bo-textonly
Yangbajain Town	Template:Bo-textonly
Townships
Gyaidar Township	Template:Bo-textonly
Nyingzhung Township	Template:Bo-textonly
Gongtang Township	Template:Bo-textonly
Lungring Township	Template:Bo-textonly
Uma Township	Template:Bo-textonly
Namco Township	Template:Bo-textonly

Population and economy

File:Yangbajing.jpg

Yangbajain geothermal power station

As of 2013 the population was 40,000, up from 35,000 in 1997. In 2000 Damxung had a total population of 39,169, of which 19,429 were male and 18,740 were female. Almost all were ethnic Tibetans. The rural population was 36,607 and the urban population 2,562.Template:Sfn As of 2009 there were 37 primary and secondary school buildings. There were seven hospitals, including a county hospital, with a total of 40 beds and 161 medical personnel.Template:Sfn

Natural grasslands cover , of which 68% is considered excellent.Template:Sfn Almost all the people are engaged in rearing livestock, including yaks, sheep, goats and horses.Template:Sfn In 1999 the herds other than horses included 224,600 sheep (42.55%), 179,600 yak (34.02%), 116,900 goats (22.14%).Template:Sfn

The Qinghai-Tibet Highway (China National Highway 109) runs from east to west across the county. Damxung railway station links the county to the city of Lhasa to the south. There is a large geothermal field at Yangbajain. This is harnessed by generating units that deliver 25,180 kW, or 100 million kilowatt hours annually, to the city of Lhasa to the south.Template:Sfn The transmission line follows the Duilong River south through Doilungdêqên District.Template:Sfn Yangbajain Geothermal Field is currently the largest proven geothermal field of its nature in China. There is a gypsum mine with reserves of 100 million tons in Uma township. Other mineral resources include aluminum, tin, lead, zinc and copper.Template:Sfn

Monuments

Kangmar Monastery (康玛寺) is in Chonggar Village, Gungtang Township, Damxung County, from the county seat. The monastery belonged to the Gelug sect, and was administered by the Hardongkangcun of the Tantric School of Sera Monastery. As of 2003 it had 62 monks and was the largest monastery in Damxung. It was said to have been built by a monk from Kangma in Garze Prefecture. The meditation room has 1,213 carved stone reliefs of Buddha, mostly about . They are about three hundred years old.Template:Sfn The temple stands on a barren slope below a mountain, but the meeting room has electric light and heating. The temple operates a tea house and a grocery store. The monks have built a two-story dormitory.

Yangpachen Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yangbajain, historically the seat of the Shamarpas of Karma Kagyu.Template:Sfn It is the main monastery of the Red Hat school of the Karma Kagyu sect. It was built in 1490, and through extensive repairs and additions grew into a major architectural complex that contained a large collection of cultural relics. The Red Hat school of Karma Kagyu died out in 1791. The monastery was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, but later was rebuilt.Template:Sfn

The Eight Towers of Northern Tibet (藏北八塔) in Wumatang (Uma) townland are said to be the guardians of the grasslands of northern Tibet. One story of their origin is that eight generals of King Gesar, who unified the grasslands of northern Tibet, were killed at this place and the towers were built to commemorate them. Another says that the eight generals of the Mongol army were killed here. This may be more plausible, since the names seem to have Mongol origins.Template:Sfn

Namtso lake is the second-largest salt lake in China. It has vivid turquoise-blue waters and is set in spectacular scenery. The Tashi Dor Monastery is at an elevation of in the southeastern corner of the lake.Template:Sfn It is situated on the Tashi Dor promontory. It is more a chapel than a monastery, with two small buildings holding images of local deities.Template:Sfn

• Nyainqentanglha rising above Namtso
  Nyainqentanglha rising above Namtso
• Yangpachen valley
  Yangpachen valley
• View to the north of Gyaidar
  View to the north of Gyaidar
• Railway about Script error: No such module "convert". north of Yangbajain
  Railway about north of Yangbajain