A Trip to Lhasa River

       The Lhasa River originates from Nyangqentanglha Mountain on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is 551 km long and is one of the five major tributaries of the Yarlung Zangbo. For many years, the average diametric flow volume has been 6 billion cubic meters, which is about one-eighth of that of the second largest river in China, the Yellow River. The drainage area is nearly 30,000 square km. The Lhasa River is the Mother River of the Tibetans, which witnessed the changes of ancient Tibetan culture. The drainage area of the Lhasa River serves as the center of politics, economy, culture, transportation and religion in the whole Tibet, as well as the significant part of three-river area (the Yarlung Zangbo River, the Lhasa River and the Nyang Qu River) that Tibetan government attaches importance to the development there.

    In March, we paid a visit to the Lhasa River area. We went to the riverhead of the Xoirong Zangbo River, a tributary of the Lhasa River, which is located in Meizhukongka County at an altitude of over 4,500 meters. Compared with the situation more than ten years ago, we found that, except for much improvement in the quality of the roads, Dezong Hot Spring with the history of over 1,400 years and the celestial ground of the Zhigongti Monastery, with a history of over 800 years, remained unchanged.

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