地热之城羊八井（英文）

正In Tibetan,the word yangbajain means "wide" or "broad".The term is also used as the name of the town under the jurisdiction of Damshung County,Lhasa.Found90 kilometers northwest of Lhasa at an altitude of around 4,300 meters above sea level,the place is worldrenowned for its hot springs.The amount and quality of the spring water is difficult to fathom.Some say the temperature of the water is the highest naturally found in China,ranging from 93 to 172 degrees Celsius.Tibet has the highest proportion of hot springs in China.These are both large and small,but     

News in Brief

Lhasa Old District to Get Big- budget Facelift The government of Lhasa is to spend 1.234 billion Yuan to protect its old urban area.The facelift project was launched on Dec.20 and is expected to be completed by July 2013,which includes renovation of water supply and drainage,power lines,pipelines,street lamps and construction of heating facilities.     

NEWS IN BRIEF

Road for Gonggar AirportThe Central Government has approved construction of the "two bridges and one tunnel" project which is expected to shorten the 98-km distance from Lhasa to Gonggar Airport to 53 km. As a result, the travel shall be shortened from 90 minutes to 50 minutes.Construction of the project shall consume 6.5 billion Yuan in investment.The two bridges refer to the 1,594-rneter-long Lhasa River Bridge and the 3,797-meter-long Yarlung Zangbo River Bridge. Both are of the extra large type in Tibet.The one tunnel refers to the Shierong Tunnel that cuts through the mountain by 2,426 meters.The new road will extend 13.282 km. It will be a second class one by the Chinese standard. It is expected to meet Tibet's need for economic construction in the 10-15-year period. It is expected to be built at the end of 2004.     

A Trip to Lhasa River （Ⅰ）

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.     

FOUR GENERATIONS OF HOUSES IN THE TSUSUM VILLAGE: A MINIATURE OF THE GREAT CHANGES IN CHINA'S BORDER AREAS

正Tsusum, a border village some 2,000 kilometers east of Lhasa and 6,000 kilometers from Beijing, is in the Tsosisumkyi Township of Zanda County in Ngari Prefecture. The road to the village is both longer and tougher than even the well-known difficult road leading to the Metok County.Tsusum means"dried-up lake"in Tibetan. With an elevation of 4,000     

A Trip to Lhasa River(I)

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 billon cubic meters,which is about one-eighth of that of the second largest river in China,the Yelow 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.     

Land of Snow Mountains And Grasslands

Damxung, located at the meeting point of southern and northern Tibet, is 160 km from Lhasa. Tibetans regard it as the northern gate to the regional capital city.In Tibetan, Damxung means "the selected choice place". It is the best grassland in Changtang and is the only county under Lhasa devoted to animal husbandry.Sitting at an elevation of 4,300 meters, it is intersected by the Nyainqentanglha Mountains, and has a total area of 12,000 square km.The county exercises jurisdiction over six townships and two towns, respectively Wuma Township, Lungren Town-     

THE GOLDEN AGE:VISITING DRATHANG MONASTERY

正Not far from the ferry dock close to the Samye Monastery,there is a countryside road leading directly to the Dranang County.The road has been laid with asphalt and connects Lhasa to Lhokar.At the very beginning of the road,however,there is a sign,where"To the Drathang Monastery"is written.Obviously,the monastery is much more famous than the county.Ten     

PEOPLE IN THE BARKOR STREET

<正>Editor's Note:According to local custom in Lhasa,people refer to the area around the Jokhang Temple as"Barkor Street"."Lhasa"is"the Buddha's land"in Tibetan.In the hearts of Tibetan people,the Jokhang Temple is one of the most holy places because a statue of the twelve-year-old Sakyamuni is enshrined and worshiped there.Every year,the temple attracts many Tibetan Buddhist monks and disciples come from far away and pay homage to the Buddha.As time passed,the area of Barkor Street around     

Aquatic Birds Winter In Lhunzhub County (I)

Lhunzhub County is located inthe middle of Tibet along theupper reaches of the LhasaRiver. It is also called Peng-bo after the Pengbo River.Gandain Qugo Town, the county govern-ment headquarters, is 65 km from Lhasa.The county covers an area of 4,517square km, with 12,000 hectares of culti-vatable land, and a total population is52,000. The northern part belongs to thehigh and cold zone with the average ele-vation of some 4,160 meters. The south-ern part belongs to the drainage area ofthe …