Ngari Prefecture

Ngari Prefecture () or Ali Prefecture () is a prefecture of China's Tibet Autonomous Region covering Western Tibet, whose traditional name is Ngari Khorsum. Its administrative centre and largest settlement is the town of Shiquanhe. It is one of the least densely populated areas in the world, with 0.3 people per kilometer (0.85 per mile). Ngari was once the heart of the ancient kingdom of Guge. Later Ngari, along with Ü and Tsang, composed Ü-Tsang, one of the traditional provinces of Tibet, the others being Amdo and Kham. The prefecture has close cultural links with Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti district of the bordering Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The paved Xinjiang-Tibet Highway (新藏公路) passes through this area. There are well-known prehistoric petroglyphs near the far western town of Rutog. The town of Ngari lies above sea level in northwest Tibet some west of the capital, Lhasa. Ngari Gunsa Airport began operations on July 1, 2010, becoming the fourth civil airport in Tibet (shortening the trip to Lhasa to one-and-a-half hours from three or four days by car) along with Lhasa Gonggar Airport in Lhasa, Qamdo Bamda Airport in Chamdo and Nyingchi Mainling Airport. Ngari is best known for Mount Kailash, also called Sumeru, and Lake Manasarovar. Mount Kailash is above sea level and is the main peak of the Transhimalaya (also called the Kailash Range or Gangdisê Mountains). The holy mountain and lake are associated with number of religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, and Bon, among others, attracting numerous domestic and international religious pilgrims and tourists. Surrounding Mount Kailash are four ancient and famous monasteries: Zhabura, Chiu Gompa, Zheri and Zhozhub. Manasarovar lies above sea level, covers an area of and reaches a maximum depth of . Ngari has a cold desert climate (Köppen climate classification: BWk), with strong dry-winter subarctic climate tendencies (Köppen climate classification: Dwc). Ngari Prefecture is subdivided into seven county-level divisions: seven counties.