Shiquanhe Town

Shiquanhe Town is where the administrative authority of the Ngari Prefecture is located and is the political, economic, cultural and communication center of Ngari. It was named after the Shiquanhe River, which runs through it. Originating at the northeastern foot of the Kangdese (in the Sendo Township of the Ge'gyai County), the terrain of the river head looks like the mouth of a lion, from whose mouth flows a hot spring, hence the name of the river.

The town is situated on a wild gobi desert. The Shiquanhe River flows through the town like a piece of auspicious hada. A mighty stone lion stands facing southeast at the center of the downtown traffic island. It is the symbol of the town, which extends outward from the traffic island through four streets. The street to the south is a commercial center, and the streets to the east and west are where various departments of the prefectural government are located. The street to the north is part of the Xinjiang-Tibet highway, leading to Rutog County and further to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. All shops and restaurants in the town face the streets, and public telephone facilities are available everywhere. On the roofs and walls of many Tibetan-style dwelling houses are heaps of dry roots of rose willow used as kindling. On the open gobi, the town is small and bustling with activity and vitality.

Prior to 1951, Ngari was an administrative area of the local Tibetan government. The Ngari Commissioner's Office was established at Kunsa of Gar County in 1959. The highway between Tibet and Xinjiang was completed and open to traffic in 1964. As the living conditions in Kunsa were extremely harsh, the Central Government approved the construction of Shiquanhe Town on July 23, 1965, and the premises of the Ngari government offices moved from Kunsa to Shiquanhe Town. The town at that time covered just a small area (about the size of the current downtown area) surrounded by the desert. The only sign of vigor and vitality was the rose willow growing on the banks of the Shiquanhe. Several herdsmen came here to herd their animals in the winter and spring. They became the earliest "mobile population" in the town. There were only 400 residents when the town began to be constructed. The construction was designed for a scale of 800 permanent residents, a rather daring program at that time. The town boasted only one well, one shop and one power generation station equipped with an 84 kw generating unit. After the Chinese Government implemented reform and opening-up policies in 1979, Ngari attained rapid development. Today, Shiquanhe Town has a population of 12,000.

In 1959, there were only two elementary schools in the whole prefecture. Today, Ngari has over 40 elementary and middle schools. The first middle school at Shiquanhe Town offered classes to a total of 45 students under several tents two decades ago. That same school has now developed into a key school in the prefecture, having 369 students in the register and a staff of 64 teachers and workers. At the end of the 1950s, just one health institution served the whole prefecture. Now more than 60 hospitals and other medical institutes have been established at various levels. The first weather station set up in Ngari 36 years ago is now a member for data exchange of the World Meteorological Organization and has a work force of nearly 70 people. The completion of the communication satellite ground receiving station at Shiquanhe Town in November 1985 drew Ngari closer to the other places of the country. In July 1995, the saving deposits in the one-year-old Ngari Prefecture Agricultural Bank amounted to 194 million yuan. The bank made loans of 16 million yuan to the agricultural sector, animal husbandry and poverty-alleviating projects that year, contributing substantially to the development of the prefecture. In June 1997, after all counties had access to program-controlled telephone services, the Ngari Prefecture Post and Telecommunication Office imported Motorola communication equipment and opened a mobile phone service, which is connected to the national network. Prior to 1978, the only means of conveying messages between Ngari and the outside world was by manual radiotelegram. When snow closed mountain passes in the winter, it usually took half a year for a letter to reach its receiver.