Nakchu, also called 'Naqu', is in the north of Tibet A.R.; it is one of administrative regions of Tibet A.R., to its north is Xinjiang Ugyur Autonomous Region and Yushu Tibetan prefecture of Qinghai Province, to its east is Chamdo prefecture of Tibet (Xizang), to its west is Nagri area of Xizang, to its south is Shigatse prefecture, Lhasa and Linzi prefecture.
Under its administration are 10 counties: naqu, ando, nierong, biru, jiali, baqing, suoxian, bange, shenzha, nima and one special administrative region - Shuanghu; by the statistics in 1995, the total population in Naqu region is 330, 286, among which is 326.920 of Tibetans, accounting for 98.98%.
Naqu means 'black water' in local Tibetan language, it has a land area of 420,000 square kilometers, counting for one third of the total of Tibet; the whole naqu region is surrounded by Tanggula Mountains in the north, nianqingtanggula mountains in the south and Gangdisi mountains in the west; its average elevation is 4500 meters above sea level.
In naqu area, dry, freezing, big wind, lack of Oxygen are its main features, its annual temperature is between -0.9¡æ and -3.3¡æ, its relative humidity is between 48% and 51%, its annual rainfall is 380 mm, its sunshine hours is between 2852.6 and 2881.7 yearly, every year, the time period between May and September is the golden seasons.
The town of Naqu (or called 'black water') is the place with stratigic importance, every year, on August, the local people and local government will hold the grandest horse race festival. It is the best season to tour naqu.
The main transportation roads, such as Qinghai-Tibet highway and Naqu-Chamdo transportation road, will pass through this city; and the new Qinghai-Tibet railway also stops at Nakchu.
From Naqu, you can travel to Ali (also called 'Gar') by road and go deep into Kekexili region.
Nakchu is about 370 kilometers to the north of Lhasa city; it is on the way to Golmud from Lhasa by road. |
