Gonggar County, also Gongkar (Tibetan: གོང་དཀར་རྫོང་།; Chinese: 贡嘎县), is a county of Shannan in the southeastern part of Tibet Autonomous Region, China, it's one of the 12 counties of the prefecture. It has under its jurisdiction five towns, four townships, and contains notable landmarks such as the Gonggar Choide Monastery, the Zhug Dêqên Qoikor Monastery, Gangdoi Town, the Gonggar Dzong at Xoi, the Lhasa Gonggar Airport at Gyazhugling, the Tubdain Ramai Monastery and the county seat of Gyixung.^[2]

Gonggar means "White mountain behind the fortress" in Tibetan.^[3] History of the county came into limelight with the establishment of the Sakyapa school of Tibetan Buddhism. Among the many dzongs and monasteries established in the 14th century, the best known are the Gonngar Dzong and the Gonggar Choede Monastery.^[4][5]

Gonggar County was officially established on March 1, 1960, under the administrative division reform of the Tibet Autonomous Region.^[6] The first major infrastructure project was the construction of the Gonggar County Highway, completed in 1965, which connected Gonggar to Lhasa, facilitating easier transportation and communication.^[7][8]

Gonggar County is located in southern Tibet and has a total area of 2,283 square kilometres (881 sq mi). The Yarlung Tsangpo River (Brahmaputra River), the mother river of Tibet, flows through the Gonggar County and among other counties of Shannan, and is thus rich in water resources. Set in west to east direction, the county is a plateau land with an average altitude of 3,750 metres (12,300 ft).^[9] Gonggar County is located where the Yarlung Tsangpo River is notably wide. The Gonggar Airport was created at this site for this reason. The airport is situated to the west of Rawa-me, the county capital at the entrance of the Namrab Valley, 96 kilometres (60 mi) from Lhasa and 87 kilometres (54 mi)from Tsetang, the capital of Shannan. The county is delineated by Mount Chuwaru, revered in Tibet, across from Chusul, and Gompa La (4,794 kilometres (2,979 mi)). Proceed southward down the path to the revered Yamdrok Lake in Western Tibet, extending eastward to the boundaries of the Dal Valley on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra and Dorje Monastery on the northern bank. The county encompasses the southern valleys of Namrab and Drib counties, as well as the northern valleys of Leuchung and Trango counties.^[10]

Gonggar County has a monsoonal-influenced cool semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with four climatic seasons and a long winter. The average temperature varies from 7.2–8.5 °C (45.0–47.3 °F), with the warmest month average temperature being 15.8 °C (60.4 °F) and the coldest month average temperature −2.2 °C (28.0 °F). The average annual precipitation is 416 millimetres or 16.4 inches with 84 rainy days. The annual sunshine hours are 3,194, and frost-free period is 142 days. It is subject to natural disasters from frequent storms with 40 days of gale days on average – concentrated between February and April. Solar radiation has been recorded as 7,710 MJ/m².^[11]

Vegetation

The forest area in the county is 7.8 million mu and of grassland area is 282 mu. The main crops and vegetables grown are barley, winter wheat, spring wheat, pea, broad bean, rape, radish, potato, Yuan cabbage, tomatoes and cauliflower. Medicinal plants and products in the county are creeping cypress, opulus, ginseng fruits, snow lotus, Chinese caterpillar fungus, Fritillaria, musk and seabuckthorn.^[14]

Fauna

The wildlife species recorded in the county are wild yak, wild ass, Tibetan antelope, Tibetan gazelle, and black-necked cranes. The livestock are mainly yak, pianniu, cattle, goats, sheep, horses, donkeys, mules and pigs.^[15]

The county has predominantly an agricultural economy and is considered the grain base of Shannan. Tourism also adds to the economic development of the county.^[16][17]

Economic progress is witnessed in the county in all sectors of the economy. In recent years, the county has held five trade fairs and 3 cultural fairs to promote local products and Tibetan handicrafts.^[18]

Energy

The energy resources of the county consist of the two functioning hydropower stations with a generating capacity of 530 MWh. The Yamzhog pumped storage power station with an installed capacity of 90 MW is under construction.^[19]

Handicrafts

The famous apron, which the Tibetan married women wear, is a handicraft of the Gonggar County in the Jiedexiu area and is known as the "Jed Show Apron". The county is synonymous with this apron, which has a distinctive and characteristic style, and it has been produced here for the last 500 or 600 years.^[20]

Gonggar County contains 5 town and 4 townships.

Gonggar County has a geographical area of 2,283 square kilometres (881 sq mi), with a total population of 53,701 (2020),^[21] which gives a population density of 21 per km².^[22]

As the cradle of ancient culture and its enviable position in the rich history of Tibet, Gonggar County has unique and rich historical monuments, Buddhist monastery, natural geological features such as lake and caves, scenic regions and religiously linked mountains.^[23]

Dorje Drak / Dorjezha monastery

Dorjezha Monastery, situated on a hilltop, blends well with the rock setting and is named after the rock known as Vraja, the green coloured gemstones found behind the monastery. The literal meaning of ‘Dorjezha’ is “Diamond Hill.” It was initially built on modest lines, on the right bank of the Yarlung River by a wealthy local man known as Doxie Dorje. The monastery was destroyed completely in 1717 during Zungar invasion of this area. It was, however, rebuilt in 1718. Further, the monastery was supported by the Fifth Dalai Lama and consequently, it underwent major improvements and became one of the famous monasteries of Tibet. At the peak of its popularity, 2000 monks of Nyingma sect resided here; it is known as the only ancestral monastery of the Sakyapa sect. It was substantially damaged during the Cultural Revolution. However, it was rebuilt in 1978. At present, 29 monks reside here, and most of them are from the Gonggar County, except one monk who is from Renbo County of Shigatse Prefecture. The Management system established is democratic, with each individual member of the Management Commission made responsible for particular tasks such as religious activities, finance and daily matters. It maintains close interaction with the Choqin Monastery (Dêgê County in Sichuan province) also of the Nyigma sect and both follow the same teaching and practicing of Buddhist tenets. In this monastery, the practice of the “Reincarnation of the Living Buddha” is followed and hence it has the name of Renchenqinmo Dorjeza Jambeilobsam Gyinmeinamzogyacho and the present Living Buddha is the 10th Reincarnation in this lineage, and as result this monastery has huge reputation among the adherents of Tibetan Buddhism.^[24][25]

Mao Zedong statue

A large statue of Mao Zedong has been installed in the Gonggar County in Gonggar town. The statue was erected by contributions made by the people of Hunan Province, where Mao was born. The statue, erected in honour of the Chairman Mao, was in gratitude for the people of his hometown. The statue is erected on a 5.16 metres (16.9 ft) pedestal is 7.1 metres (23 ft) tall and weighs 35 tonnes and made in granite. It cost 480,000 yuan (US$60,000).^[26]

Gyaideshiu town

Gyaideshiu town (also spelt Jiedexiu Town) is famous for the Gyaideshiu 'Bangdian' apron not only among women in Tibet but also is in demand in Nepal, India, Bhutan and Western Europe. The town is located in the county, 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) to its east on the highway towards Zetang.^[24][27] Bangdian" is an apron of China's Tibetan ethnic group with historic heritage of 1,500 years of hand weaving. This weaving technique is designated as "China's state-level intangible cultural heritage."^[27]

There are two National Highways passing through the county, apart from several rural network of roads. The county is also famous for the Lhasa Gonggar Airport.^[28][29]