Lhünzê County

{{For|the nearby administrative division located in Bhutan with the same Tibetan name|Lhuntse District}} {{Infobox settlement    |name =Lhünzê County |official_name = |other_name =Lhöntse |native_name ={{lower|0.1em|{{nobold|{{lang|zh-hans|隆子县}} • {{Bo-textonly|ལྷུན་རྩེ་རྫོང་།}}}}}} |nickname = |settlement_type =County |total_type =  |motto =  |image_skyline = |imagesize = |image_caption = |image_map =Location of Lhünzê within Xizang (China).png |mapsize = |map_caption =Location of Lhünzê County (red) within Shannan City (yellow) and the Tibet Autonomous Region |image_map1 = Administrative Division Lhokha.png |mapsize1 = |map_caption1 = The location of Lhünzê County in Shannan City (dark blue and light blue in the middle; disputed area contained) |pushpin_map = Tibet#China |pushpin_label = Lhünzê |pushpin_label_position = |pushpin_map_caption =Location of the seat in the Tibet Autonomous Region |pushpin_mapsize =  |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = China |subdivision_type1 = Autonomous region |subdivision_name1 = Tibet |subdivision_type2 = Prefecture-level city |subdivision_name2 = Shannan (Lhoka) |seat_type = County seat |seat =Lhünzê  |leader_title = |leader_name = |established_title = |established_date = |area_total_km2 = 8,165 |area_footnotes = (''de facto'' controlled) |elevation_m = |population_as_of = 2020 |population_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web |url = http://tjj.shannan.gov.cn/zwgk/xxgkml/202106/t20210624_84131.html |title =山南市第七次全国人口普查主要数据公报 |publisher = Statistics Bureau of Lhoka |language = zh |date = 2021-06-24 }}</ref> |population_note = |population_total = 33,570 |population_density_km2 = auto  |timezone = China Standard |utc_offset = +8 | coor_type =  |coordinates = {{coord|28|49|56|N|93|16|25|E|region:CN-54_type:adm3rd_source:dewiki|display=inline,title}}  |postal_code_type = Postal code |postal_code = 856600 |area_code = |website = {{URL|http://www.longzixian.gov.cn/}} |footnotes = }} {{Infobox Chinese|order=st |s=隆子县 |t=隆子縣 |p=Lóngzǐ Xiàn |tib=ལྷུན་རྩེ་རྫོང་། |wylie=lhun rtse rdzong|zwpy=Lhünzê Zong}} '''Lhünzê County''' ({{bo|t=ལྷུན་རྩེ་རྫོང་།}}; {{lang-zh|s=隆子县}}, English: Lhöntse Dzong<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bailey |first1=F. M. |title=Exploration on the Tsangpo or upper Brahmaputra |journal=Scottish Geographical Magazine |volume=30 |issue=11 |year=1914 |page=581 |doi=10.1080/00369221408734154 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/2450287}}</ref>) is a county of Shannan located in the south-east of the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. "Lhünzê" means "self-existing pinnacle" in Tibetan. Part of Lhünzê County is claimed by India as part of Arunachal Pradesh, which is a disputed area between China and India.<ref>[https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/row-with-china-present-tense/articleshow/59729345.cms India-China row: 8 disputed border areas that China claims as its own], The Economic Times, 12 July 2018.</ref>

==History== During the Tibetan Empire period, this area was ruled by Nyal (''gnyal''), a ''stong-sde'' (lit. "general commanding one thousand soldiers") under the Left Horn (''g.yon-ru''). During the Yuan Dynasty, Qayü and Lhatruk were united to establish the Drupa Myriarch (''gru-pa khri-skor''). The Lhünzê Zong was officially established during Phagmodrupa dynasty. After 1912 Lhünzê was under the Governorate of Lhoka (''lho kha spyi khyab''), the Tibetan government listed Lhünzê Zong as one of the six first-class ''zong'' in the south of Lhoka (Shannan), where the fifth-grade officials were appointed as Dzongpon ("head of ''zong''"). In August 1956, the Lhünzê Zong Office was established, under the leadership of the Shannan Branch Committee. In May 1959, Lhünzê, Qayü and Jora were merged to establish Lhünzê County.<ref name=a1>{{cite book |editor=中国大百科全书编委会 |title=中国大百科全书 |edition=第三版 |url=https://www.zgbk.com/ecph/words?SiteID=1&ID=421086}}</ref><ref name=b2>{{cite web |title=西藏自治区隆子县概况 |url=http://www.xzlongz.gov.cn/cgly_4049/201903/t20190330_2569860.html |website=隆子县人民政府 |accessdate=2023-05-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In March 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama briefly stopped here to request permission for entry into India, by sending a letter to the Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru, during his escape from China.<ref name="salute 2020">{{Cite web|date=2020-11-28|title=The story of Dalai Lama' escape from Tibet|url=https://salute.co.in/dalai-lamas-escape/|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-20|website=Salute|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113200227/https://salute.co.in/dalai-lamas-escape/ |archive-date=2021-01-13 }}</ref><ref name="The Better India 2018">{{Cite web|date=2018-03-17|title=Remembering An Epic Journey: How Dalai Lama Escaped Tibet in 1959|url=https://www.thebetterindia.com/134644/dalai-lama-escape-lhasa-tibet-tawang-india/|access-date=2022-01-24|website=The Better India|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Liu 2020">{{Cite book|last=Liu|first=Xiaoyuan|url=http://cup.columbia.edu/book/to-the-end-of-revolution/9780231195270|title=To the End of Revolution: The Chinese Communist Party and Tibet, 1949–1959|date=July 2020|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-195263|pages=280}}</ref>

==Geography== Lhünzê County covers an area of 10,566 square kilometers, and the actual control area is 8,165 square kilometers. The terrain is higher in the west and lower in the east, with an average altitude of 3,900 meters. The lowest point is Zhongna Village in Tsari Township and Doyü Village in Doyü Lhoba Ethnic Township, with an altitude of 3,000 meters. In the south are the Himalayas with an altitude of over 5,000 meters. The altitude of the middle and upper reaches of the mountains is between 3,900 and 4,300 meters, with wide river beaches and grasslands. Deeply formed valleys, there are Lhünzê River, Xiongqu, Luoluoqu, Jiaboqu, Yumenqu, Jijiaqu and other rivers, 65 large and small lakes, with a total area of 33 square kilometers, and groundwater reserves of more than 50 million cubic meters. The amount of resources that can be developed and utilized is 100,000 kilowatts, and there are 15 hydropower stations with a total installed capacity of 4,750 kilowatts. The annual average temperature is above 5 °C, the annual average sunshine hours are about 3,000 hours, the annual frost-free period is 238.3 days, and the annual average precipitation is 279.41 mm, mainly concentrated in May–October, accounting for 96.8% of the annual precipitation.<ref name=a1/><ref name=b2/>

The Subansiri River, the largest tributary of the Brahmaputra, is formed in the county. A number of sub-tributaries such as Tsari Chu, Charme Chu, Nye Chu and Loro Chu, flow through the county, and join in the adjoining Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh in India.

==Administrative divisions== Lhünzê County comprises 2 towns, 8 townships and 1 ethnic township:<ref>{{cite web |script-title = zh:2022年统计用区划代码和城乡划分代码：隆子县 |url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/tjbz/tjyqhdmhcxhfdm/2022/54/05/540529.html |website=National Bureau of Statistics of China|language=zh|accessdate= |archive-date= |archive-url= }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://cn.zyw.xizang.gov.cn/bmfw/hzdzgjs/xzdm/ | title =汉藏对照工具书__西藏行政地名词典 |language=zh}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;" align=center ! Name ! Chinese ! Hanyu Pinyin ! Tibetan ! Wylie |- | colspan="5" style="text-align:center; background:#d3d3d3;"|'''Towns''' |---------- | Lhünzê Town |{{lang|zh-hans|隆子镇}} | {{Transliteration|zh|Lóngzǐ zhèn}} |{{bo-textonly|ལྷུན་རྩེ་གྲོང་རྡལ།}} |{{Transliteration|bo|lhun rtse grong rdal}} |- | Ritang Town |{{lang|zh-hans|日当镇}} | {{Transliteration|zh|Rìdāng zhèn}} |{{bo-textonly|རི་ཐང་གྲོང་རྡལ།}} |{{Transliteration|bo|ri thang grong rdal}} |---------- | colspan="5" style="text-align:center; background:#d3d3d3;"|'''Townships''' |---------- | Nyaimai Township |{{lang|zh-hans|列麦乡}} | {{Transliteration|zh|Lièmài xiāng}} |{{bo-textonly|གཉལ་སྨད་ཤང་།}} |{{Transliteration|bo|gnyil smad shang}} |- | Rirong Township |{{lang|zh-hans|热荣乡}} | {{Transliteration|zh|Rèróng xiāng}} |{{bo-textonly|རི་རོང་ཤང་།}} |{{Transliteration|bo|ri rong shang}} |- | Sangngagqoiling Township |{{lang|zh-hans|三安曲林乡}} | {{Transliteration|zh|Sān'ānqǔlín xiāng}} |{{bo-textonly|གསང་སྔགས་ཆོས་གླིང་ཤང་།}} |{{Transliteration|bo|gsang snags chos gling shang}} |- | Zhoinba Township |{{lang|zh-hans|准巴乡}} | {{Transliteration|zh|Zhǔnbā xiāng}} |{{bo-textonly|སྒྲོན་པ་ཤང་།}} |{{Transliteration|bo|sgron pa shang}} |- | Zhölsar Township |{{lang|zh-hans|雪萨乡}} | {{Transliteration|zh|Xuěsà xiāng}} |{{bo-textonly|ཞོལ་གསར་ཤང་།}} |{{Transliteration|bo|zhol gsal shang}} |- | Tsari Township |{{lang|zh-hans|扎日乡}} | {{Transliteration|zh|Zhārì xiāng}} |{{bo-textonly|རྩ་རི་ཤང་།}} |{{Transliteration|bo|rtsa ri shang}} |- | Yümai Township<nowiki>*</nowiki> |{{lang|zh-hans|玉麦乡}} | {{Transliteration|zh|Yùmài xiāng}} |{{bo-textonly|ཡུལ་སྨད་ཤང་།}} |{{Transliteration|bo|yul smad shang}} |- | Qayü Township |{{lang|zh-hans|加玉乡}} | {{Transliteration|zh|Jiāyù xiāng}} |{{bo-textonly|བྱ་ཡུལ་ཤང་།}} |{{Transliteration|bo|bya yul shang}} |---------- | colspan="5" style="text-align:center; background:#d3d3d3;"|'''Ethnic township''' |---------- | Doyü Lhoba Ethnic Township |{{lang|zh-hans|斗玉珞巴民族乡}} | {{Transliteration|zh|Dòuyù Luòbā mínzúxiāng}} |{{bo-textonly|མདོ་ཡུལ་ལྷོ་པ་མི་རིགས་ཤང་།}} |{{Transliteration|bo|mdo yul slo pa mi rigs shang}} |- | colspan="5" | <div style="position: relative" class=center> <nowiki>*</nowiki> includes areas claimed but currently under control of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. </div> |}

==Climate==

{{Weather box|width=auto |metric first=y |single line=y |collapsed = Y |location = Lhünzê, elevation {{convert|3860|m|ft|abbr=on}}, (1991–2020 normals) |Jan high C = 7.6 |Feb high C = 9.1 |Mar high C = 11.8 |Apr high C = 14.4 |May high C = 17.9 |Jun high C = 21.2 |Jul high C = 20.6 |Aug high C = 20.1 |Sep high C = 19.3 |Oct high C = 16.0 |Nov high C = 12.3 |Dec high C = 9.4 |Jan mean C = -4.0 |Feb mean C = -1.5 |Mar mean C = 2.1 |Apr mean C = 5.5 |May mean C = 9.8 |Jun mean C = 13.6 |Jul mean C = 13.7 |Aug mean C = 13.1 |Sep mean C = 11.7 |Oct mean C = 6.8 |Nov mean C = 0.9 |Dec mean C = -2.7 |Jan low C = -13.2 |Feb low C = -10.6 |Mar low C = -6.5 |Apr low C = -2.2 |May low C = 2.9 |Jun low C = 7.6 |Jul low C = 8.9 |Aug low C = 8.3 |Sep low C = 6.2 |Oct low C = -0.9 |Nov low C = -8.0 |Dec low C = -11.2 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 0.5 |Feb precipitation mm = 0.7 |Mar precipitation mm = 2.0 |Apr precipitation mm = 9.9 |May precipitation mm = 17.6 |Jun precipitation mm = 43.8 |Jul precipitation mm = 92.7 |Aug precipitation mm = 77.8 |Sep precipitation mm = 36.8 |Oct precipitation mm = 8.9 |Nov precipitation mm = 1.7 |Dec precipitation mm = 1.3 |unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm |Jan precipitation days = 0.9 |Feb precipitation days = 0.9 |Mar precipitation days = 2.3 |Apr precipitation days = 6.3 |May precipitation days = 8.6 |Jun precipitation days = 14.0 |Jul precipitation days = 21.2 |Aug precipitation days = 19.7 |Sep precipitation days = 13.3 |Oct precipitation days = 3.1 |Nov precipitation days = 0.9 |Dec precipitation days = 0.4 |year precipitation days = |Jan humidity = 47 |Feb humidity = 47 |Mar humidity = 48 |Apr humidity = 51 |May humidity = 53 |Jun humidity = 57 |Jul humidity = 65 |Aug humidity = 66 |Sep humidity = 62 |Oct humidity = 55 |Nov humidity = 51 |Dec humidity = 50 |Jan sun = 275.9 |Feb sun = 263.9 |Mar sun = 282.2 |Apr sun = 264.2 |May sun = 270.2 |Jun sun = 233.9 |Jul sun = 192.1 |Aug sun = 196.6 |Sep sun = 219.9 |Oct sun = 280.4 |Nov sun = 272.9 |Dec sun = 275.3 |year sun = | Jan percentsun = 84 | Feb percentsun = 83 | Mar percentsun = 75 | Apr percentsun = 68 | May percentsun = 64 | Jun percentsun = 56 | Jul percentsun = 46 | Aug percentsun = 49 | Sep percentsun = 60 | Oct percentsun = 80 | Nov percentsun = 86 | Dec percentsun = 86 | year percentsun = |Jan snow days = 2.3 |Feb snow days = 3.2 |Mar snow days = 6.7 |Apr snow days = 9.6 |May snow days = 2.3 |Jun snow days = 0.1 |Jul snow days = 0 |Aug snow days = 0 |Sep snow days = 0.1 |Oct snow days = 1.5 |Nov snow days = 2.1 |Dec snow days = 2.3 |year snow days = |source 1 = China Meteorological Administration<ref name="cma graphical">{{cite web |url=http://data.cma.cn/data/weatherBk.html |script-title=zh:中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data |publisher=China Meteorological Administration |language = zh-hans |access-date=27 September 2023}}</ref><ref> {{cite web|title=Experience Template |url=https://experience.arcgis.com/template/e724038fda394e9d9b7921f10fd1aa55/page/%E7%BA%AF%E8%A1%A8%E6%A0%BC%E7%BB%9F%E8%AE%A1-(%E5%AF%B9%E6%AF%948110%E5%8F%98%E5%8C%96)/?org=UQmaps |script-title=zh:中国气象数据网|publisher=China Meteorological Administration |language = zh-hans | access-date =27 September 2023}}</ref> }}

==Economy== At the end of 2017, the arable land area of Lhünzê County was 3269 hectares, the total sown area was 3365.93 hectares, and the sown area of grain crops was 2473.48 hectares, including 1789.22 hectares of highland barley, 320.25 hectares of wheat, 523.69 hectares of rape crops, 126.22 hectares of vegetables, 242.55 hectares of green fodder, and 242.55 hectares of grain crops in the county. The output is 18,910 tons, the rapeseed output is 1,060 tons, the number of livestock on hand at the end of the year is 162,660, the meat output is 3,101 tons, and the milk output is 8,026 tons.<ref name=c3>{{cite web |title=隆子县2017年国民经济和社会发展统计公报 |url=http://www.xzlongz.gov.cn/cgyw_4047/201804/t20180413_2177356.html |website=隆子县人民政府 |accessdate=2022-04-15 |archive-date=2018-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222205029/http://www.xzlongz.gov.cn/cgyw_4047/201804/t20180413_2177356.html }}</ref> It mainly raises yaks, cattle, horses, donkeys, mules, and pigs. The economic trees include wild Peaches, apples, etc. The industry is dominated by national handicrafts, with grain processing, hydropower, construction and other industries.<ref name=a1/><ref name=b2/> In 2018, the local GDP of Lhünzê County was 1,368.6 million yuan, of which the primary industry was 68.1 million yuan, the secondary industry was 1,046.3 million yuan, the tertiary industry was 254.2 million yuan, and the fixed asset investment of the whole society was 2,253.6 million yuan. The total retail sales of consumer goods was 148.9 million yuan, the industrial added value was 385.3 million yuan,<ref>{{Cite web |title=财政金融 |url=http://www.longzixian.gov.cn/zjlz/lzgk/czjr/201902/t20190227_19020.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529141011/http://www.longzixian.gov.cn/zjlz/lzgk/czjr/201902/t20190227_19020.html |archive-date=2023-05-29 |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=隆子县人民政府}}</ref> the per capita disposable income of rural residents was 10,536 yuan, and the per capita disposable income of urban residents was 28,597 yuan.<ref name=c3/>

==Society== In the seventh census of China in 2020, the permanent population of Lhünzê County was 33,570, including 17,005 males, 16,565 females, 6,934 aged 0–14, 22,766 aged 15–59, 3,870 aged 60 and over, and 32,075 Tibetans. There are 1171 people of Han nationality and 324 people of other ethnic minorities. The urban population is 5,527, the rural population is 28,043, Lhünzê Town 8,371, Ritang Town 7,287, Nyaimai Township 1,949, Rirong Township 3,771, Sangngagqoiling Township 2,959, Zhoinba Township 429, Zhölsar has 4,006 people in the township, 739 in Tsari Township, 266 in Yümai Township, 3,183 in Qayü Township, and 610 in Doyü Lhoba Ethnic Township.<ref>{{cite web |title=隆子县第七次全国人口普查主要数据公报 |url=http://www.longzixian.gov.cn/xwzx/tggs/202107/t20210727_86065.html |website=隆子县人民政府 |accessdate=2023-05-29 |archive-date=2022-07-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706183509/http://www.longzixian.gov.cn/xwzx/tggs/202107/t20210727_86065.html }}</ref> As of the end of 2017, there were 46 schools of all kinds in the county, including 1 junior middle school, 8 township primary schools, 13 teaching sites, 24 kindergartens, and 12 medical institutions in the county. There is 1 first-class hospital, 11 township hospitals, and 1114.52 kilometers of highways.<ref name=c3/>

==Mining Controversy==

In 2018, the Chinese government launched large-scale investments into mining precious metals like gold and silver from the region. This followed reports that rare earth minerals valued at over $60 billion had been found. Reports suggest that the gold rush has led to an unprecedented influx of people into the region. This is perceived as China's plan to claim the disputed border with India (Arunachal Pradesh) could turn the region into "''another South China Sea''".<ref>{{Cite web | title = Beijing gold rush 'risks turning Himalayas into new South China Sea' | first = Stephen | last = Chen | publisher = South China Morning Post | date = 20 May 2018 | access-date = 30 December 2019 | url = https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2146296/how-chinese-mining-himalayas-may-create-new-military-flashpoint | quote = }}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lhunze County}} Category:County-level divisions of Shannan, Tibet Category:Sino-Indian border dispute