Samzhubze District Overview

About Samzhubze District

Samzhubze District which is the second largest city in Tibet is a municipal district of       Shigatse City as well as the religious, political, economic and cultural center of the Tibet Autonomous Region. It was designated as a state historical and cultural city by the State Council.

Samzhubze District lies in southern Tibet, the northern foothills of the Himalayas（喜马拉雅山）, and the intersection of the Brahmaputra（雅鲁藏布江） and the Chuihe River（楚河）. At 3,840 meters above sea level, it is one of the highest cities in the world with the majority population of Tibetan people. Their agriculture mainly has highland barley, wheat planting and yak feeding, while the handicraft industry there is also relatively developed.

‣ Basic Information of Samzhubze District

• Chinese Name: 桑珠孜区

• Elevation: 4,000 meters

• Total Area: 3,700 square meters

• Climate Type: Plateau Mountain Climate

• Location: Located in southern Tibet, the northern foothills of the Himalayas（喜马拉雅山）

The Climate in Samzhubze District

There are roughly three regional climates in Samzhubze. The area north of the Himalayas and south of Tanggula Mountain is a semi-arid monsoon climate of the plateau temperate zone. The north of Gangdise Mountains and Tanggula Mountain is a semi-arid and arid climate of the plateau subarctic monsoon zone, and the south of the main ridge of the Himalayas is the temperate monsoon semi-humid climate.

The main climate features: thin air, low air pressure and low oxygen content; the solar radiation is strong, the sunshine duration is long, the annual average sunshine duration reaches 3300 hours; There is strongly ultraviolet, low temperature, small annual temperature difference, large daily temperature difference; there are distinguished dry and moist seasons.

Main Attractions in Samzhubze District

▪  Mount Everest（珠穆朗玛峰）：Mount Everest (Qomolangma) is the main peak of Himalayas, which is located in the boundary between China and Nepal with its north slope in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its south slope in Nepal. In Tibetan language, 'Qomo' means nymph and 'Langma' means the third because there are four peaks around Mount Everest and it ranked the third. As the highest peak in the world, the height of Mount Everest is 8844.43 meters according to the measurement of China's state bureau of surveying and mapping.

Appreciating Mount Everest from Tibet, China, the covered snow at the top of peak just like a magnificent pyramid and the terrain is steep and precipitous. While the scenery in Nepal is crushing so that if you can't appreciate Mount Everest in Tibet, it will be a great pity.

There are 15 glaciers with an area of more than 10 square kilometers. Among them, the largest Rongbuk Glacier（绒布冰川） is 26 kilometers long and the average thickness is 120 meters. Numerous glaciers are entrenched in valleys like jade dragons. Seracs , icy bridge and ice towers can be found everywhere.

▪ Tashilhunpo Monastery（扎什伦布寺）：Tashilhunpo Monastery（扎什伦布寺）, also known as Auspicious Sumeru Monastery（吉祥须弥寺）is the largest temple in Tibet Autonomous Region of China Shigatse（日喀则）and the place for the successive of the fourth Panchen Lama（班禅喇嘛）.

The most magnificent building in Tashilhunpo Monastery is the Great Maitreya Hall（大弥勒殿） and Lingta Hall（灵塔殿） for the successive Panchen. In Tibetan language, the great maitreya is known as Qiangbakang（强巴康）, where consecrate the gilding bronze statue of Qiangba Buddha（强巴佛） which was presided over and built by the ninth Panchen, pan-chen-blo-bzang-chos-kyi-nyi-ma（曲吉尼玛） in 1914. The seven successive Panchen Lingta Hall are of varying sizes, some of them worship several Panchen, while others only enshrine one.

▪ Sakya Monastery（萨迦寺）：It  is located at the foot of Benbo Mountain（本波山）, Sagya County（萨迦县）, Tibetan Autonomous Region of. It is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery and the main temple of Sakya sect.

Sakya Monastery was listed as a key cultural relic protection by the State Council in 1961. Sakya in Tibetan language means the gray earth. Built in 1073 AD, Sakya Monastery has the walls decorated with the red color that symbolize the Manjusri（文殊菩萨）, the white colors that symbolize the Goddess of Mercy（观音菩萨） and the green color which symbolize the Vajrapani（金刚手菩萨）. As a result of this, Sakya sect is also known as the Huajiao（花教） which means the religious sect full of all kinds of colors.   

There collected over 3000 murals in Sakya Monastery with the wide themes from religion, history, culture and social life, etc. to buddhist scriptures and discipline, myths, legends, historical stories, Sakya history, landscapes, flowers and auspicious beasts, and all types of decorative patterns which are grand in scenes and rich in content.

▪ Gama Ditch（嘎玛沟）: It is located at the important tributary of Gama Zangbu（嘎玛藏布）, the downstream of the Pengqu River（朋曲河）. It is hailed as one of the "ten most beautiful landscapes in the world", "one of the most beautiful valleys in the world" and "one of the world's ten classic hiking routes".

The scenery in Gama Ditch is very impressive with various rare wild animals and plants as well as the wonderful plateau lakes. Here, visitors can appreciate the world Highest Mount Everest and the world's fourth Mount Lhotse closely, can enjoy the panoramic view of the world's fifth Makarau（马卡鲁）, etc. The thrilling beauty that the world-class snow mountain gives visitors are extremely inaccessible and breathtaking, which like wandering in the dreamland---Shanghai-La.

▪ Paso Monastery（帕索寺）：Located in Paso Village, Samzhubze District, Shigatse City Paso Monastery which is known as the birthplace of the fourth Panchen Lama is listed as the key cultural relic’s protection units of Paso Autonomous Region. The monastery which belongs to Gelug sect was founded in 1300 AD, covering an area of 856.7 square meters.

▪ Samzhubze Palace（桑珠孜宗堡）：Located in Samzhubze District, Samzhubze Palace which is known as the small Potala Palace was built in 1360 with the history of more than 600 years.

▪ Shalu Monastery（夏鲁寺）：Shalu Monastery which is located southeast of Samzhubze District, is one of the larger Buddhist temples in Tibet, and is also the ancestral temple of the Tibetan Buddhism, Shalu sect.

Festivals in Samzhubze DIstrict

The people living in Samzhubze District（桑珠孜区） will be in the four important festival one year: the New Year's day, the Spring Festival of the lunar calendar, the Tibetan year of Tibetan and the Tibetan year of Tsang（后藏）. The farmers living in the valley of Nianchu（年楚河谷） , are unable to observe a festival because of the time during the Tibetan New Year is just for their spring sowing, so they advance one month to celebrate their New Year, commonly known as the Tibetan New Year of  Tsang farmers, which is also known as the most lively and grandest.

People in Samzhubze District not only observe the Tibetan New Year on  December 1, but also celebrate the pleasant Tibetan New Year on January 1 of Tibetan Calendar.

The Spring Festival begins on December 29. According to the customs, people are supposed to held the activity named "Guqia "（古恰）, meaning to clean the house inside and outside the courtyard thoroughly. People will  put new Tibetan carpet in the room, put New-Year-pictures on the door, and most importantly, clean out and decorate the kitchen which the Water God and the Kitchen God lives. The various appliances in the room are clean and neatly laid out. The eight auspicious logos painted on the wall with flour, represent longevity and harvest and show the  auspicious and prosperous festive atmosphere.

Local Products in Samzhubze District

In Tibet, there are some amazing local products for visitors to appreciate and purchase as the memorial souvenirs. Here, we recommend some as the top choice for visitors to have a reference in Samzhubze District.

1. Tibet Wool（氆氇）, the hand-woven cloth, is the main material of clothing, shoes and hats. It used to be the main tribute with a history of more than 200 years.

2. Tibetan carpets（藏毯） are another highlight of various ethnic handicrafts in Tibet. Tibetan carpet is one of the three world's most famous carpets, with its excellent production, rich ethnic and religious patterns, and exquisite aesthetic colors. The Tibetan carpets have different sizes, and different forms of style, such as the elegant type and the showily type.

3. Tibetan wine (藏酒) is a kind of low wine at twenty to thirty degrees, made from wheat or highland barley after ferment. Fresh and mellow. 

Accommodations in Samzhubze District

There are some excellent accommodation in Samzhubze District to provide visitors a comfortable place to have dinner or rest. Here, we list some of the star-hotels and hostels to you.

1. Shigatse Shandong Edifice（日喀则山东大厦）: Located in No. 102 Shandong Road（山东路）, Samzhubze District.
2. Shigatse Mulun Lazong International Hotel（日喀则穆伦拉宗国际大酒店）: Located in the intersection of Jilin Road（吉林路） and Longjiang Road（龙江路） of Samzhubze District.
3. Shigatse Aijia Theme Hotel（日喀则爱佳主题酒店）: Located in No. 15 Shanghai Middle Road（上海中路） in Samzhubze District.
4. Rujia Budget Hotel（如家快捷酒店）: Located near the Tashilhunpo Monastery（扎什伦布寺） on Jilin Road（吉林路）, Samzhubze District.
5. Shigatse Marriott Hotel（日喀则万豪酒店）: Located in Heilongjiang South Road（黑龙江南路）, Samzhubze District.
6. Shigatse Hexi Youth Hostel（日喀则荷西青年旅店）: Located in Shenhu Garden（神湖花园）, Qingdao Road（青岛路）, Samzhubze District.
7. Shigatse Xixiangge Business Hotel（日喀则锡祥阁商务宾馆）: Located diagonally across No. 120 Keji Road（科技路）, Samzhubze District.

Travel Tips in Samzhubze District

 Here are some travel tips we listed for the visitors so that the visitors can have an unforgettable and amazing trip in Samzhubze District .

1.  Best time travel to Samzhubze District without rainy days: September to January. September to January are the excellent months travel to Samzhubze District because these days are quite dry. The weather is beginning to get warmer with the particular periodic quick shower. It is sometimes quieter than the other peak period of September to November.
2. Due to the high altitudes climatic conditions of Tibet, visitors should pay attention to the prevention and cure of the syndromes including headache, dizziness, flustered, shortness of breath, the plateau response, especially people who have chronic respiratory disease or cardiovascular disease.
3. Even in winter, the sun is still strong in Tibet, so people travel to Tibet are supposed to prepare well with their sunglasses, sunscreens, lip gloss and other items. Due to the large temperature difference day and night, the tourists need to prepare enough clothes, preferably a winter jacket.
4. Traveling to Tibet, travelers would better have some rest during the first three days in Tibet as far as possible. What’s more, drink plenty of water while you're in Tibet and avoid spicy foods.
5. Please try you best to respect the local folk customs, especially their religious belief and taboos when you traveling in Tibet.
6. Sunglasses is absolutely necessary for all seasons to protect your eyes from ultraviolet radiation and glisten of the snow; suntan lotion, skin cream and lipstick are also essential in the dry air and scalding sunlight, so, dear sirs, don’t be careless just because you are males, for there are really some guys who left with burnt noses.

Transportation in Samzhubze DIstrict

1. You can ride a bicycle to Samzhubze District from Shigatse City for only three minutes, 596 meters. 
2. You can also walk there from Shigatse City for about ten minutes, 500 meters.
3. If you are at Shigatse Airport, you'd better ask a taxi for help, which will cost you over one hour.
4. If you are at Shigatse Bus Station, you can ride to Samzhubze District for 20 minutes, 2 kilometers, or you can walk there for over 30 minutes.
5. If you are at Shigatse Railway Station, you can call a taxi for CNY 21, you can take No. 1 Road bus or No. 4 Road bus to Samzhubze District.

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