Gertse County

Gertse County
སྒེར་རྩེ་རྫོང་།改则县
Gêrzê, Gaize, Kai-tse
Tong Tso
Map showing Gêrzê County (purple, upper right) in Ngari Prefecture
Map showing Gêrzê County (purple, upper right) in Ngari Prefecture
Location of Gêrzê County (red) within Ngari Prefecture (yellow) and the Tibet A.R.
Location of Gêrzê County (red) within Ngari Prefecture (yellow) and the Tibet A.R.
Gêrzê is located in Ngari
Gêrzê
Gêrzê
Location of the seat in the Tibet A.R.
Gêrzê is located in Tibet
Gêrzê
Gêrzê
Gêrzê (Tibet)
Gêrzê is located in China
Gêrzê
Gêrzê
Gêrzê (China)
Coordinates: 33°45′53″N 84°07′22″E / 33.76472°N 84.12278°E / 33.76472; 84.12278
CountryChina
Autonomous regionTibet
PrefectureNgari
Established date[1][2][3][4]October 1960
County seatGêrzê[3]
Township-level divisions[1]1 town, 6 townships
Area
 • Total135,025 km2 (52,133 sq mi)
Elevationover 4,500 m (over 14,800 ft)
Population
 (2020)[6]
 • Total25,327
 • Density0.19/km2 (0.49/sq mi)
Ethnic groups
 • Major ethnic groupsTibetan[4]
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code
859200[7]
Websitegz.al.gov.cn (in Chinese)
Gertse County
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese改则
Traditional Chinese改則
Tibetan name
Tibetanསྒེར་རྩེ་རྫོང་།

Gertse County[8] (Tibetan: སྒེར་རྩེ་རྫོང་།), Gêrzê County[7][9][10][11] or Gaize County (Chinese: 改则县)[12] is a county located in Ngari Prefecture in the northwest of the Tibet Autonomous Region, China, bordering Xinjiang to the north.[3]

Name[edit]

Gêrzê is the Tibetan word for a special type of local-style dwelling built on the peak of a mountain.[1]

History[edit]

The area was originally inhabited by nomadic tribes.[3]

In the aftermath of the annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China in the early 1950s, People's Liberation Army troops were stationed in Gêrzê.[13]

On May 3, 1960, the Gêrzê County Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was established. On October 1, 1960, the Gêrzê County government was established.[1][2][3][4]

At 2:01 AM on February 21, 2020, a 5.0 magnitude earthquake struck in Gêrzê County (epicenter: 34°34′N 85°41′E / 34.56°N 85.68°E / 34.56; 85.68).[14]

At 2:12 AM on March 10, 2020, a 5.0 magnitude earthquake struck in Gêrzê County (epicenter: 32°50′N 85°31′E / 32.84°N 85.52°E / 32.84; 85.52) followed by a 3.7 magnitude and a 3.4 magnitude aftershock. No casualties were reported.[5]

On May 8, 2020, eight suspects were arrested and eighty-nine antelope skins were confiscated in connection with reported Tibetan antelope poaching in the county.[15]

Geography[edit]

Gêrzê County is bordered to the north by Keriya County (Yutian) in Hotan Prefecture (Hetian), Xinjiang and to the west by Rutog County.[16] There are numerous lakes in Gêrzê County including Tong Tso. Thermal springs in Gêrzê County include Lugu[10] (70 °C; 33°24′24″N 84°08′12″E / 33.40667°N 84.13667°E / 33.40667; 84.13667; altitude 4,528 m (14,856 ft)), Nagezhong (60 °C; 32°18′N 84°12′E / 32.300°N 84.200°E / 32.300; 84.200; altitude 4,550 m (14,930 ft)) and Yarlhaingari (60 °C; 33°00′48″N 86°01′36″E / 33.01333°N 86.02667°E / 33.01333; 86.02667; altitude 4,880 m (16,010 ft)).[17]

Climate[edit]

Gêrzê County has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSk), with strong dry-winter subarctic climate tendencies (Köppen: Dwc).

Climate data for Gêrzê (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 8.3
(46.9)
10.5
(50.9)
14.5
(58.1)
15.9
(60.6)
22.0
(71.6)
26.1
(79.0)
27.6
(81.7)
25.0
(77.0)
22.6
(72.7)
17.2
(63.0)
12.9
(55.2)
8.3
(46.9)
27.6
(81.7)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −2.7
(27.1)
−0.3
(31.5)
3.8
(38.8)
8.5
(47.3)
13.0
(55.4)
18.2
(64.8)
20.4
(68.7)
18.6
(65.5)
16.2
(61.2)
8.6
(47.5)
3.3
(37.9)
−0.5
(31.1)
8.9
(48.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) −11.1
(12.0)
−8.2
(17.2)
−4.1
(24.6)
0.7
(33.3)
5.2
(41.4)
10.5
(50.9)
13.2
(55.8)
11.9
(53.4)
9.1
(48.4)
0.6
(33.1)
−5.8
(21.6)
−9.9
(14.2)
1.0
(33.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −20.3
(−4.5)
−17.6
(0.3)
−13.4
(7.9)
−7.9
(17.8)
−2.7
(27.1)
3.1
(37.6)
6.7
(44.1)
6.2
(43.2)
2.1
(35.8)
−7.5
(18.5)
−14.6
(5.7)
−19.2
(−2.6)
−7.1
(19.2)
Record low °C (°F) −44.0
(−47.2)
−42.4
(−44.3)
−32.1
(−25.8)
−20.0
(−4.0)
−15.7
(3.7)
−9.2
(15.4)
−3.3
(26.1)
−3.6
(25.5)
−9.5
(14.9)
−23.5
(−10.3)
−34.9
(−30.8)
−44.6
(−48.3)
−44.6
(−48.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 0.9
(0.04)
0.6
(0.02)
1.1
(0.04)
2.2
(0.09)
8.3
(0.33)
25.1
(0.99)
61.8
(2.43)
71.6
(2.82)
21.5
(0.85)
3.7
(0.15)
0.7
(0.03)
0.2
(0.01)
197.7
(7.8)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 1.4 1.0 1.6 1.9 3.9 7.3 13.6 15.4 6.7 1.6 0.7 0.5 55.6
Average snowy days 3.8 3.3 4.2 4.7 7.8 4.2 0.7 0.4 2.5 2.9 1.5 1.4 37.4
Average relative humidity (%) 72 71 69 69 71 71 66 63 77 85 84 81 73
Mean monthly sunshine hours 232.4 222.9 258.2 271.1 305.2 303.0 284.1 257.4 280.4 295.7 260.1 253.0 3,223.5
Percent possible sunshine 72 71 69 69 71 71 66 63 77 85 84 81 73
Source: China Meteorological Administration[18][19]

Administrative divisions[edit]

Gêrzê county is divided into 1 town and 6 townships:[4][20][2]

Name Chinese Hanyu Pinyin Tibetan Wylie
Town
Gêrzê Town 改则镇 Gǎizé zhèn སྒེར་རྩེ་གྲོང་རྡལ། sger rtse grong rdal
Townships
Oma Township[10] 物玛乡 Wùmǎ xiāng འོ་མ་ཤང་། 'o ma shang
Shenchen Township 先遣乡 Xiānqiǎn xiāng ཤན་ཆེན་ཤང་། shan chen shang
Marmê Township 麻米乡 Mámǐ xiāng མར་མེ་ཤང་། mar me shang
Dongco Township 洞措乡 Dòngcuò xiāng སྟོང་མཚོ་ཤང་། stong mtsho shang
Gomo Township[10] 古姆乡 Gǔmǔ xiāng ཁྲ་མདོངས་ཤང་། kra mdongs shang
Chabug Township 察布乡 Chábù xiāng བྲག་པོ་ཤང་། brag po shang

Demographics[edit]

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
200017,502—    
201022,177+2.40%
[4]

As of 1996, the residents of the county were Tibetan.[4] In 1999, the population of the county was 16,623.[21]

Economy[edit]

The main economic activity in Gêrzê County is animal husbandry[5] which includes the raising of yak, dzo, sheep, goats, and horses. The county also has wild yak, wild donkeys, wild sheep, bears and Tibetan antelope.[3]

Transportation[edit]

  • Nagqu–Ngari Highway (黑阿公路)[3]

Historical maps[edit]

Historical maps including Gêrzê:

Maps of the modern-day Gêrzê County area, 1970s

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e 地区经济司 (30 November 2017). 西藏自治区阿里地区改则县. National Development and Reform Commission (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 25 May 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020 – via Internet Archive. 改则县隶属阿里地区,全县总面积135025平方公里,辖1镇6乡。2015年总人口46930人。
    "改则"藏语意为"特殊的民居建于山顶"。1960年,设立改则县。
  2. ^ a b c 改则县大事记. 阿里地区改则县人民政府 (in Simplified Chinese). 19 March 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2020. 5月3日,中共改则县委员会在门董成立,{...}10月1日,改则县人民政府在门董成立,{...}9月,改则县撤区并乡工作结束。撤区并乡后,改则县行政区调整为6乡1镇、74个行政村、1个居委会。
  3. ^ a b c d e f g 夏征农; 陈至立, eds. (September 2009). 辞海:第六版彩图本 [Cihai (Sixth Edition in Color)] (in Chinese). 上海. Shanghai: 上海辞书出版社. Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House. p. 665. ISBN 978-7-5326-2859-9.
  4. ^ a b c d e f 日土县历史沿革 [Gêrzê County Historical Development] (in Simplified Chinese). XZQH.org. 5 April 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2019. 2000年第五次人口普查,改则县常住总人口17502人,其中{...}2010年第六次人口普查,改则县常住总人口22177人,其中,改则镇5072人,物玛乡2315人,先遣乡1825人,麻米乡4363人,洞措乡2571人,古姆乡2312人,察布乡3719人。
  5. ^ a b c huaxia, ed. (10 March 2020). "No casualties reported from Tibet earthquakes". Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on May 24, 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  6. ^ "阿里地区第七次全国人口普查主要数据公报" (in Chinese). Administrative Commission of Ngari Prefecture. 2021-06-10.
  7. ^ a b Wu Zhenhua 武振华, ed. (1996). 西藏地名 [Place Names of the Xizang Autonomous Region]. Beijing: 中国藏学出版社. p. 157. ISBN 7-80057-284-6. 改则 སྒེར་རྩེ Gêrzê 邮政编码:859200
  8. ^ Dorje, Gyurme (1999), Footprint Tibet Handbook with Bhutan (2nd ed.), Bath: Footprint Handbooks, p. 343, ISBN 0-8442-2190-2 – via archive.org
  9. ^ Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (2010). 建筑抗震设计规范 [GB50011-2010: Code for Seismic Design of Buildings] (in English and Simplified Chinese). Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press. p. 198 – via Google Books. Gêrzê County
  10. ^ a b c d Complete Atlas Of The World (3 ed.). Penguin Random House. 2016. p. 238 – via Internet Archive. Oma{...}Gêrzê{...}Lugu{...}Gomo
  11. ^ Gêrzê (Approved - N) at GEOnet Names Server, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
  12. ^ Gaize Xian, geonames.org, retrieved 18 September 2022.
  13. ^ "Sixty Years Since Peaceful Liberation of Tibet". Beijing: Information Office of the State Council. 11 July 2011 – via Wikisource.
  14. ^ Mu Xuequan, ed. (21 February 2020). "5.0-magnitude quake hits Tibet: CENC". Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on May 24, 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  15. ^ "8 arrested for poaching Tibetan antelopes". Xinhua News Agency. 8 May 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  16. ^ Shixin Wang; Baolin Yang; Yi Zhou; Futao Wang; Rui Zhang; Qing Zhao (2018). "Snow Cover Mapping and Ice Avalanche Monitoring from the Satellite Data of the Sentinels". International Archives of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences. 42 (3): 1766. Bibcode:2018ISPAr42.3.1765W. doi:10.5194/ISPRS-ARCHIVES-XLII-3-1765-2018. S2CID 59056188.
  17. ^ Zhijie Liao (2018). Thermal Springs and Geothermal Energy in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and the Surroundings. Higher Education Press. p. 83. ISBN 978-981-10-3485-5 – via Google Books.
  18. ^ 中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  19. ^ 中国气象数据网 (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  20. ^ 2019年统计用区划代码和城乡划分代码:改则县 [2019 Statistical Area Numbers and Rural-Urban Area Numbers: Gêrzê County] (in Simplified Chinese). National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China. 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2019. 统计用区划代码 名称 542526100000 改则镇 542526200000 物玛乡 542526201000 先遣乡 542526202000 麻米乡 542526203000 洞措乡 542526204000 古姆乡 542526205000 察布乡
  21. ^ Berman, Lex (2017-03-17). "China Population by County (1999)". Harvard Dataverse. doi:10.7910/dvn/eoh3fv. Retrieved 2018-04-28.

33°45′53″N 84°07′22″E / 33.76472°N 84.12278°E / 33.76472; 84.12278