Rutog County

Rutog County 日土县 • རུ་ཐོག་རྫོང་།
County
Rutog Town Rutog Town
Location of Rutog County within Tibet Location of Rutog County within Tibet
Country	People's Republic of China
Region	Tibet
Prefecture	Ngari Prefecture
County seat	Rutog
Area
• Total	74,500 km2 (28,800 sq mi)
Population (2003)
• Total	6,300
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)

Rutog County is a large western county of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital, Rutog is located some 1,140 km (710 mi) or 700 miles west- northwest of the Tibetan capital, Lhasa.

The county has a rich history of folk tales, myths, legends, proverbs and folk songs and has a large number of caves, rock paintings and other relics. The Xinjiang-Tibet Highway runs through the Rutog County for 340 km (210 mi). The county, established in March 1961 covers 74,500 km² (28,800 sq mi) but has a very low population density with a population of 6300 (2003).

Geography and climate

Although when the county was established in 1961 it was part of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in 1978 it became a part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, under the jurisdiction of the Ngari Prefecture.

Rutog County is located in northwestern Tibet, Ngari northwest with a number of territorial borders. It is divided into 12 townships and 30 village committees. The Karakoram Mountains go through the county. The average altitude of 4,500 m (14,800 ft) with a maximum altitude of 6,800 m (22,300 ft).

The Nu River flows through this county of mountain shrub grassland and alpine grassland soil. Lakes in Rutog County include Bangda Lake, Guozha Lake, Longmu Lake, Lumajangdong Co and Wo Erba Lake.

Rutog County is located in semi-arid plateau sub-frigid monsoon climate zone, climate with low air pressure, radiation strong, cold and dry with very little precipitation. Gang Tisi, also known as "Kala Si" mountain is the highest point of Rutog County at 6800 meters above sea level, and since ancient times, people in Central Asia have come to visit it on pilgrimage routes. The county has an annual sunshine of 3370.9 hours, annual precipitation is 73.4 mm, annual evaporation is 2456.3 mm, and annual average wind speed 3.2 m/s.

Economy

Rutog County's economy is based around farming and animal husbandry. Aside from wool, butter, hides, cattle cashmere etc. are produced. In Rutog County, the main growing crop is barley and yaks, sheep, goats, horses and other livestock are important to the economy. Rutog County has many wild animals and plants, including the black-necked crane, goose, wild yak, Tibetan antelope, Mongolian gazelle, black sheep, wild ass, and bear. A number of rare animals are protected by the government and are of high value. Known mineral resources are gold, lead, chromite, borax, and salt.

In the five years from 2006–2011, Rutog County produced 72 tons of cashmere wool worth 16 million yuan ($2.5 million USD in 2011). China produces 75% of the world's cashmere wool.

Infrastructure

The China National Highway 219 passes through Rutog County. In 1989 the Rutog County Commerce and Industry Bureau was established. In June 2002 it successfully held the first Bangong Folk Festival. As of the end of May 2006, the The Rutog County Branch of the Agricultural Bank of China was established in 1995, and has given total loans amounting to 92.5 million yuan, mainly funding the distribution of animal products for farmers in Rutog County. The bank loaned 12.2 million yuan in 2006 alone.

In 1984, Rutog County television station was established and in 1985, Japanese investors built the first cinema on county soil. Japan also invested in Rutog's radio facilities.

References

[1]."China Tibet Information Centre"

External links

• Hudong Encyclopedia (Chinese)