Shiquanhe

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title: "Shiquanhe" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["populated-places-in-ngari-prefecture", "township-level-divisions-of-tibet", "gar-county"] topic_path: "general/populated-places-in-ngari-prefecture" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiquanhe" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Shiquanhe
official_name	Sênggêzangbo
native_name
settlement_type	Town
total_type
image_skyline	Ngari Prefecture IMG 3552.jpg
image_size	300px
image_caption	The main square in Shiquanhe
pushpin_map	Tibet#China Tibet Ngari#China
pushpin_map_caption	Location of Shiquanhe in Tibet Autonomous Region##Location of Shiquanhe in Ngari Prefecture##Location of Shiquanhe in China
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	People's Republic of China
subdivision_type1	Region
subdivision_name1	Tibet Autonomous Region
subdivision_type2	Prefecture
subdivision_name2	Ngari
subdivision_type3	County
subdivision_name3	Gar
population_as_of	2020
population_total	24112
timezone	CST
utc_offset	+8
coor_pinpoint	Shiquanhe town government
coordinates
elevation_m	4,255
postal_code_type	Postal code
postal_code	859000
::

Name

This modern Chinese-built town is named after the Sengge Zangbo river, the main headwater of the Indus River, on whose banks it is located. It is called "Sengge Zangbo" or "Sengge Khabab" in Tibetan and "Shiquanhe" in Chinese.{{efn|The name Shiquanhe is originally the name of the river; in Tibetan, it is Sengge Zangbo (in SASM/GNC/SRC transcriptions, sometimes simply Senge Zangbo), Senge Zangbu (森格藏布) or Sengghe Tsangpo (in a transcription used in Western books). The source of that river, a hot spring supposedly resembles a lion's mouth; hence the name, interpreted as "river flowing from lion's mouth".}}

Being the headquarters of Ngari Prefecture (which is known in Chinese under the Sinicized form of its name, Ali Prefecture), the town is also commonly known in English as Ngari or Ali () Town; this is what many guidebooks use as the primary name for the town. In Tibetan, Ngari is only the name for the prefecture, and not the town.

Being the county seat of the Gar County, it is also referred to as Gar (). it may be labeled that way on maps.

Description

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/噶尔县山上巨大的八一标志.jpg" caption="PLA]] emblem is imprinted on the hillside on the left"] ::

When the Ngari Prefecture was established by the People's Republic of China in 1959, its capital was at Günsa (or Gar Gunsa), at the settlement called Gar Chongsar (སྒར་གྲོང་གསར), which is now the location of the Ngari Gunsa Airport.

In 1965, the capital was moved from Günsa to the newly built Shiquanhe town in 1965, due to the extremely difficult living conditions at the former. At that time, Shiquanhe had a population of 400 people.

Shiquanhe is a modern Chinese-style town, situated at the confluence of the Sengge River and the Longchu River. According to a government-affiliated source, the population of Shiquanhe had grown from just over 1,500 to over 20,000 in 30 years (1978–2008), and people there now "enjoy their life because the city has been equipped with culture and commerce facilities". Western guidebook writers have referred to the place as a "concrete monstrosity of a town".

Shiquanhe has a lion statue in the middle of the town. It has high-rise buildings, restaurants, general stores and nightclubs. There are several primary schools and a secondary school. It also has two banks, one of which, the Agricultural Bank of China, near the army post west of the roundabout, has foreign exchange facilities. There is also a post and telecom office.

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Map_of_Gar_by_Strachey_1851.jpg" caption="Henry Strachey]], 1851"] ::

Even though Shiquanhe is a modern town, its location has been of significant importance in history. Not only is it situated in a wide valley of Sengge Zangbo with an abundance of cultivable land, it also lies along a trade route between Gar Gunsa and Rudok, which continues on to Ladakh in the west via the Pangong Lake, and, in the other direction, to Lhasa via the Mayum La pass. The region was historically known as Rala (). (See Strachey's map.)

During the Tibetan Era of Fragmentation in the 10th century, Kyide Nyimagon, a descendant of emperor Langdarma, came to Ngari in the midst of chaos in Central Tibet and started a new kingdom in Rala. He is said to have started by building a Kharmar (reddish fort) in the region, also called Ralajong.{{efn|The ruins of a red fort claimed to have been built by Nyimagon are located at .{{cite web |url=https://www.57tibet.com/ngari-travel-notes/2418.html |script-title=zh:热拉红堡 |title=Rè lā hóng bǎo |trans-title=Rala Red Fort |publisher=Ali Regional Tourism Bureau |via=57tibet.com |access-date=10 July 2022}}}} Later he expanded into the Sutlej Valley and Burang by marrying a princess of Burang. This kingdom came to be known as Guge-Purang.

By the 17th century, Ladakh annexed the entire kingdom of Guge and invited retaliation from Central Tibet under the 5th Dalai Lama. The large of army of Galdan Chhewang, Tibet's general, encamped in the Gar Valley. The first clash with the Ladakhi forces took place near the confluence of the Gartang and Sengge Zangbo, with the locations Langmar and Rala mentioned in the sources. The Ladakhis were defeated and Galdan Chhewang pursued them to Ladakh, leading to the Tibet–Ladakh–Mughal War and the Treaty of Tingmosgang.

Transportation

Ngari Gunsa Airport, near the town of Shiquanhe, started operations on 1 July 2010, becoming the fourth civil airport in Tibet. Air China operates two flights a week from Chengdu to Ngari Gunsa via Lhasa, on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Climate

Shiquanhe has a cold desert climate (Köppen climate classification: BWk) with short, very mild summers and very cold, dry winters. | location = Shiquanhe, elevation 4279 m, (1991–2020 normals) | metric first = Yes | single line = Yes | width = auto | collapsed = Y | Jan record high C = 6.4 | Feb record high C = 9.5 | Mar record high C = 14.5 | Apr record high C = 15.7 | May record high C = 20.5 | Jun record high C = 25.2 | Jul record high C = 32.1 | Aug record high C = 26.4 | Sep record high C = 23.7 | Oct record high C = 16.7 | Nov record high C = 12.7 | Dec record high C = 7.1 | Jan high C = -4.0 | Feb high C = -1.8 | Mar high C = 2.7 | Apr high C = 8.1 | May high C = 13.0 | Jun high C = 18.5 | Jul high C = 22.0 | Aug high C = 20.8 | Sep high C = 16.8 | Oct high C = 8.8 | Nov high C = 3.6 | Dec high C = -0.6 | Jan mean C = -11.7 | Feb mean C = -9.0 | Mar mean C = -4.4 | Apr mean C = 0.9 | May mean C = 5.7 | Jun mean C = 11.3 | Jul mean C = 15.0 | Aug mean C = 14.2 | Sep mean C = 9.9 | Oct mean C = 1.3 | Nov mean C = -4.7 | Dec mean C = -9.0 | Jan low C = -19.3 | Feb low C = -16.6 | Mar low C = -12.3 | Apr low C = -7.0 | May low C = -2.0 | Jun low C = 4.1 | Jul low C = 8.5 | Aug low C = 8.1 | Sep low C = 2.8 | Oct low C = -7.0 | Nov low C = -13.0 | Dec low C = -17.1 | Jan record low C = −36.7 | Feb record low C = −30.2 | Mar record low C = −25.3 | Apr record low C = −17.9 | May record low C = −11.2 | Jun record low C = −6.6 | Jul record low C = −0.6 | Aug record low C = −0.4 | Sep record low C = -10.0 | Oct record low C = -17.0 | Nov record low C = −23.5 | Dec record low C = −32.9 |precipitation colour = green | Jan precipitation mm = 1.6 | Feb precipitation mm = 1.7 | Mar precipitation mm = 1.1 | Apr precipitation mm = 1.3 | May precipitation mm = 2.9 | Jun precipitation mm = 5.8 | Jul precipitation mm = 22.9 | Aug precipitation mm = 25.3 | Sep precipitation mm = 5.5 | Oct precipitation mm = 1.7 | Nov precipitation mm = 0.2 | Dec precipitation mm = 0.6 | Jan humidity = 34 | Feb humidity = 33 | Mar humidity = 29 | Apr humidity = 27 | May humidity = 28 | Jun humidity = 30 | Jul humidity = 37 | Aug humidity = 42 | Sep humidity = 34 | Oct humidity = 24 | Nov humidity = 24 | Dec humidity = 26 | unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm | Jan precipitation days = 1.8 | Feb precipitation days = 2.0 | Mar precipitation days = 1.3 | Apr precipitation days = 0.9 | May precipitation days = 2.0 | Jun precipitation days = 2.8 | Jul precipitation days = 7.0 | Aug precipitation days = 8.7 | Sep precipitation days = 3.1 | Oct precipitation days = 0.7 | Nov precipitation days = 0.4 | Dec precipitation days = 0.6 | year precipitation days = | Jan sun = 250.1 | Feb sun = 241.3 | Mar sun = 299.1 | Apr sun = 304.9 | May sun = 332.8 | Jun sun = 333.6 | Jul sun = 309.9 | Aug sun = 289.9 | Sep sun = 299.7 | Oct sun = 311.1 | Nov sun = 274.7 | Dec sun = 262.6 | year sun = | Jan percentsun = 78 | Feb percentsun = 77 | Mar percentsun = 80 | Apr percentsun = 78 | May percentsun = 77 | Jun percentsun = 78 | Jul percentsun = 72 | Aug percentsun = 71 | Sep percentsun = 82 | Oct percentsun = 90 | Nov percentsun = 88 | Dec percentsun = 85 | year percentsun = | Jan snow days = 3.9 | Feb snow days = 4.3 | Mar snow days = 3.6 | Apr snow days = 3.5 | May snow days = 4.8 | Jun snow days = 2.1 | Jul snow days = 0.1 | Aug snow days = 0.3 | Sep snow days = 1.0 | Oct snow days = 1.4 | Nov snow days = 1.0 | Dec snow days = 1.6 | year snow days = | source 1 = China Meteorological Administration all-time extreme temperature{{cite web |url= http://www.mherrera.org/temp.htm |title= Extreme Temperatures Around the World |access-date= 2024-10-06 | source =

Ngari Observatory

China, Japan, and South Korea are currently in talks to construct a large high-altitude observatory on a ridge 25 km south of Shiquanhe, which was selected after a series of site surveys through Tibet and western China for candidate sites. Atmospheric conditions from the site's elevation 5050 m above sea level have been roughly characterized, initial facilities (including two small domes) have been built, and a 25 cm pathfinder telescope project is in place as of 2012, with 50 and 60 cm telescopes planned for 2013 and 2014 and a 3 m telescope in the indefinite future: but the ambitions for the site include the possibilities of megaprojects like a 30 m-class competitor to E-ELT and a 10–20 m class spectrometer as a sequel to LAMOST.

Also planned for the site{{Cite AV media |series=CityU Distinguished Lecture Series |location=City University of Hong Kong |title=The Quest of Infinity |url=http://cityvod.cityu.edu.hk/mp4/VPRT/Lecture_Prof_Wang-1000K.mp4 |minutes=42 |first=Wang |last=Yifang |title=Tibet's Ali: A New Window to Detect the CMB Polarization |first1=Yong-Ping |last1=Li |first2=Yang |last2=Liu |first3=Si-Yu |last3=Li |first4=Hong |last4=Li |first5=Xinmin |last5=Zhang |eprint=1709.09053 |class=astro-ph.IM |date=27 November 2017

Construction has begun on the telescope, codenamed Ngari No.1, and it is expected to enter operations in 2023. It is subsequently officially named AliCPT-1.

AliCPT-1 will be deployed in the middle latitude of the Northern Hemisphere, on the site of Ngari(Ali) Prefecture of Tibet, on a high peak of the Gangdise mountain, 32°18'38"N, 80°01'50"E at 5250 m above sea level (B1 site), Fig. 7. The B1 site is located 20 km away from the Ngari Gunsa Airport, with convenient transportation. The closest city, Shiquanhe located at 4255 m above sea level, is only 30 km away from the B1 site. After several years of construction, the B1 site provides excellent conditions for carrying out CMB experiments. Infrastructure construction is complete, such as road construction, and has been connected to the city electricity power supply. AliCPT-1 will be operated from a new observatory building built by the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP), 850 m2 including the operation hall and additional rooms. The site is equipped with three weather stations monitoring pressure, wind speed and direction, and temperature. Grid power, already ready for operation, is the main power source on site; solar panels, a diesel power generator, and a UPS power backup system are also in place. The site is also equipped with high-speed wired data service, full environmental heater/air conditioner units, and all the facilities needed to assemble and operate the receiver, including a crane and a workshop in a high-bay room. For human safety, an on-site oxygen system is present.{{cite book | author=Maria Salatino, Jason E. Austermann, Keith L. Thompson |editor-first1=Jonas |editor-first2=Jian-Rong |editor-last1=Zmuidzinas |editor-last2=Gao |title=Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy X |chapter=The design of the Ali CMB Polarization Telescope receiver |date=January 24, 2021|page=159 |doi=10.1117/12.2560709 |arxiv=2101.09608 |isbn=9781510636934 |s2cid=230572121 }}

Notes

References

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link. [[China Meteorological Administration]]
. (27 March 2022). ["55228: Shiquanhe (China)"](https://ogimet.com/cgi-bin/gsynres?ind=55228&ano=2022&mes=3&day=28&hora=18&min=0&ndays=30). *OGIMET*.
(2013). "China invites Japan and South Korea to build observatory in disputed Shiquanhe (Aksai Chin)". Haohao Report.
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