Shiquanhe Town, Gar County, Ali Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region

Shiquanhe town

Shiquanhe town is the resident town of the administrative office of Ali Region and the people's Government of Gar county (the map indicates "Gar" gaer, that is, where the county government is located). In the early days, the administrative unit was in the north of the river and the county government unit was in the south of the river. Therefore, it is also called Ali city and Gar county. It is an important post station on the k1058 km of Xinzang highway.

Located in the north of the county and the east of the north of Shiquan River Basin, the river passes through the city, which is the distribution center for tourists to Ali Region.

In 1966, the party and government organs of Ali Region moved here from kunsha township. When the city was first built, there was only 400 permanent residents. In September 2017, the total population reached 114000, far higher than the permanent residents. In the desolate Ali plateau, it is a regional central city.

Historical evolution

It used to be a desolate place with small shrubs in Shiquanhe basin, surrounded by large areas of red willow shrubs and Caragana shrubs, surrounded by bare mountains of desert, and sparsely populated western Tibet Plateau.

In 1964, after the opening of the Xinzang highway, barracks and simple public facilities began to be built here.

On July 23, 1965 (it may be said that it was moved in 1966, which may involve the whole process of migration), the administrative office of Ali Region moved here from kunsha township to carry out the construction of various facilities (an important reason for the relocation is that kunsha is located in the garzangbo River wetland, so it is difficult to lay a solid foundation for the house, which is not conducive to long-term development); by the 1980s, the construction speed further increased Fast, towns are beginning to take shape.

In 1988, the government of Gar county also moved here from kunsha township. The contemporary map indicates that "Gar" is where the county government is. Gargaer, which means tents and barracks, was named after the Qing Dynasty as a barracks base (from the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, the management center of Ali Region was in gardake, namely garkunsha and garyasha).

In 1989, small cities set up towns.

Shiquanhe town has become a transportation hub, economic and cultural center and border trade center in Western Tibet.

Population nationality

The party and government organs of Ali Region moved from kunsha township to this place on July 23, 1965 (i.e. in 1966) and built the city. The permanent population was only 400. At that time, the place was limited to a small area. In winter and spring, several herdsmen came to graze and became the earliest "floating population" here.

In 1996, it covers an area of 3.2 square kilometers and has a population of about 10300.

In 2000, the resident population of Shiquanhe town was 7731 (Wupu).

In 2017, there were 54947 permanent residents. According to the Statistics Bureau of Ali Region in 2018, there are 24500 permanent residents in Shiquanhe Town, compared with 10500 in 2010. In addition, including the floating population, there were 114000 in September 2017.

Ninety percent are Tibetans.

administrative division

In 2017, it has jurisdiction over three neighborhood committees and one administrative village (Jiamu Village). The town government is stationed in Tibet. (Jiamu village was originally Jiamu Township, zhaxigang District)

[2014 code and urban rural classification] 542523100: ~ 001121 Senge neighborhood committee ~ 002121 Zangbu neighborhood committee ~ 201220 Jiamu Village

geographical environment

Shiquanhe Town: located in the north of the county and the east of the north of Shiquanhe basin, adjacent to Ritu County in the north. It is 1655km away from Lhasa, and it is at k1058km from Xinjiang of Xinzang highway (219 national highway). Shiquanhe town (urban area) is 4273 meters above sea level.

The annual average temperature in Shiquanhe basin is only 0.2 ℃, the monthly average temperature at the coldest time is - 12.1 ℃, and the extreme temperature is - 41 ℃. There is little precipitation here.

In the 1980s, the annual precipitation in Shiquanhe basin was only 60-70mm, which was extremely dry, making it difficult for plants to survive. The wind here was strong, with an average of 113 days of strong wind of magnitude 8 per year. Due to long-term afforestation, windy days have decreased significantly. The frost free period in Shiquanhe basin has increased from 117 days in the 1990s to 299 days at present, and the annual precipitation has increased from 73mm in the 1990s to 138mm in 2018.

G219, S201 highway transit. It is the intersection of Xinzang highway, hei'a highway and a'ri highway.

City building process

Shiquan river is a free translation of Tibetan name (transliteration of "Senge Zangbo"), this river originates from the northwest foot of Gangdise mountain, because the source of the terrain is very similar to a SHIZIKOU, a hot spring gushing from the SHIZIKOU, so this river is called Shiquan river.

Shiquanhe city (established as a town only in 1989) is located on Hongliutan. The long Shiquanhe river flows through the town like an auspicious hada. The whole town is centered around the island, with four roads extending outward: the commercial street in the south, the government departments in the East and West, and the Xinzang highway leading to Nitu county and Xinjiang in the north.

Shops and restaurants in the city face the street, public telephones can be seen everywhere, and roadside buildings and bungalows are well arranged. The town is not big, but it looks prosperous and full of vitality on the open desert Gobi of Ali plateau.

Shiquanhe town is a new town worthy of its name. Ali government moved to Shiquanhe town on July 23, 1965. At that time, the town was limited to a small area in the center of the town. In winter and spring, a few herdsmen came to graze and became the earliest "floating population" here.

Because Shiquanhe town is located in the west of Ali plateau, there is a large area of wasteland in the East, which is no man's land, that is, Qiangtang Wildlife Nature Reserve. The area of Shiquanhe town is a sparsely populated plateau. In addition, the original traffic conditions here are very backward, so the development of the town is very conservative.

At the beginning of its construction, the permanent resident population was only 400, while the construction scale of the city was designed according to 800 people. Such a plan was a bold idea at that time. At that time, there was only one well, one shop, one power house and one 84 kW generator in the town, which could not even meet the most basic lighting.

Due to the implementation of planned economy in the past, the overall development of Ali was very slow, and the material supply was always very difficult. After the implementation of the policy of reform and opening up, especially after the mid-1990s, Ali has developed rapidly. Nowadays, Shiquanhe has developed into a new plateau town with 20000 people and more than 90% of them are Tibetan compatriots.

The town scene

There are power plants, waterworks, automobile repair factories, printing factories and other industrial enterprises, and there are primary schools, middle schools, hospitals, epidemic prevention stations, as well as cultural facilities such as cinemas, TV stations, radio stations, etc. in Shiquanhe, there are many shops, post and telecommunications offices, banks, bookstores, etc. Although the facilities are simple, they are generally complete. The main accommodation for tourists is Shiquanhe hotel.

Shiquanhe town is very small, with a stone lion standing in the middle of the ring island in the center of the city. Maybe this is the symbol of a small town.

Around the island as the center, four roads extend outwards: the south is the commercial street, the East and West are the offices directly under the district and the Military District, and the north is the highway leading to Nitu county and Xinjiang.

Shops and restaurants in the city face the street, public telephones can be seen everywhere, and roadside buildings and bungalows are well arranged. The roofs and walls of almost all Tibetan dwellings are covered with dried red willow roots for igniting fires. Shiquan river flows slowly through the city. The green belt of the whole town is Bangong willow about 1km long along both sides of the cement road.

It is said that Ali people transplanted it from a ditch in Wujiang district on the North Bank of Bangong Lake in Nitu county more than 200 kilometers ago for afforestation, so it is called Bangong willow. The town is small, but full of vigor and vitality. This is the result of the rapid development in the past decade. Now it is the base of Ali Region and Gar county.

infrastructure

Urban construction

Shiquanhe town has become a transportation hub, economic and cultural center and border trade center in Western Tibet. There are power plants, waterworks, automobile repair factories, printing factories and other industrial enterprises, and there are primary schools, middle schools, hospitals, epidemic prevention stations, as well as cultural facilities such as cinemas, TV stations, radio stations, etc. in Shiquanhe, there are many shops, post and telecommunications offices, banks, bookstores, etc. Although the facilities are simple, they are generally complete. The main accommodation for tourists is Shiquanhe hotel.

Shiquanhe town has formed a 9-vertical and 8-horizontal urban road structure. The urban roads have basically realized the pavement concrete, roadside planting of red willow, colored brick sidewalk, orderly planning of commercial shops, clean and sanitary surrounding environment, forming a reasonable pattern of urban development layout of industrial area, office area, residential living area and commercial service area.

It is located at the intersection of Shiquan River and Xinjiang Tibet highway. Although the permanent population of the town is only over 10000, Ali is the most prosperous place in the sparsely populated area. Shiqu Ziren said: "more than 30 years ago, it was still a barren beach. Only the red willows along the river banks were dotted with vitality. In winter and spring, some herdsmen came to collect their herds and became the earliest floating population." In 1964, with the opening of Xinzang highway, the highest city in China rose in this wasteland with an altitude of more than 4300 meters.

Walking along the streets of Shiquan River, various shops and restaurants are lined up, and the "national live phone" sign with white background and red letter is often seen. People with mobile phones are everywhere. The red Xiali taxi runs through the main street. It costs 5 yuan to get on the taxi. The drivers said that Xiali were all brought in by trucks, otherwise they could not get in or out of Shiquanhe town by their own wheels. Although Shiquanhe town is a lonely grassland Town, people have begun to bid farewell to the lifestyle of "working at sunrise and resting at sunset"