Lhasa River

Lhasa River

Lhasa River, known as Jiqu in Tibetan, means "happy river" and "happy river", is located in central and southern Tibet. It originates from luobulula in the north of the middle Nyainqentanglha mountains. Along the way, it flows through Mozhugongka county and Dazi District, finally passes through Lhasa City, and joins the Yarlung Zangbo River in Qushui County of Lhasa city. The main stream of Lhasa River is a huge "s" shape, extending from northeast to southwest, with a total length of 568 km and a drainage area of 31760 square km. It is one of the five major tributaries of the Yarlung Zangbo River. Most of the peaks on both sides of Lhasa River are between 3600-5500 meters, which is one of the highest rivers in the world.

The climate here is mild, the terrain is flat, the soil is thick, the water source is abundant, and the soil is good. The basin is rich in plateau animals and plants and geothermal resources. It is one of the main grain producing areas in Tibet.

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Panorama

Main stream situation

geographical position

It is called "Jiqu" in Tibetan. Lhasa River originates from pengcuola kongmagou, Jiali County, at the southern foot of nyainqentangla mountains. In the north and northeast, it is adjacent to Nujiang River Basin. In the East, it is connected with Yigong Zangbu (upstream of Jiali county) and Niyang River, the main branch of PALONG Zangbu (also referred to as PALONG River). In the south, it is the main stream of Yarlung Zangbo River. In the West and northwest, it is the internal water system of northern Tibet.

In the north, the route of Niyang River to Linzhi is 318 National Highway and Lalin high-grade highway; in the south, the route of Yarlung Zangbo to Linzhi is Lalin railway.

Flow area

From the source to pengcuo, serirong, rongmai, Zhikong and other places, it flows into the Yarlung Zangbo River near Qushui county. The basin is about 551 km long from east to west, with an area of 32471 square kilometers, accounting for 13.5% of the Yarlung Zangbo River Basin. It is the largest tributary of the Yarlung Zangbo River Basin.

General situation of River Basin

Geology and geomorphology

The source area of the river is a flat wetland with an altitude of 5200 meters, and the entrance of the confluence is 3580 meters above sea level, with a total fall of 1620 meters.

In the northern part of the basin, the mountain peak is 5000-5500m above sea level, and the valley bottom is 4000-4500m above sea level, with a relative height difference of about 1000m. In the southern part of the basin, the mountain peaks are 4000-4500m above sea level, and the valley bottom is 3580-4000 m above sea level. The water energy reserve in the main stream is 1.717 million kilowatts, ranking third among the tributaries of the Yarlung Zangbo River.

Climatic characteristics

The climate is cold and dry, with an average annual rainfall of 400-500mm. Most of the rainfall occurs in summer (may September), and there is little snow in winter. There are many storms in this area, with frequent storms in late winter and spring. The average temperature is 0 ℃ in January, 17 ℃ in July, and the extreme temperatures are - 14 ℃ and 31 ℃.

social development

Lhasa River is the mother river of Lhasa City, which has a great influence on the development of Lhasa. In 633 ad, after the Tibetan monarch Songzanganbu unified the Tibetan tribe, he moved his capital to Lhasa River Valley, and the Lhasa River basin gradually developed into the political, economic, cultural, transportation and religious center of the Tibetan Plateau.

Wetland birds

Wet meadow is an important wintering area for the wet black necked Crane, marshes along the river, especially for the migratory ducks around the forest and Mozhugongka. About 140 black necked cranes were observed in the winter of 1985 / 1986. In March 1986, 108 black necked cranes, 110 spotted headed geese, 350 ducks (mainly Red duck, green winged duck and green headed duck) and 3 sea eagles were observed in this area. Several pairs of sandpipers were nesting on the river bank. Other cutting machine to the specimens are small, big egret, color stork, white goose, common merganser, kite and Goshawk. In the winter of 1987, there were 187 black necked cranes, 380 spotted headed geese, 254 red ducks and 276 Brown headed gulls.

Hydrological characteristics

The total drop of Lhasa River is 1620m, with an average gradient of 2.9 ‰. From the source of the river to the entrance of sangquhui is the upstream section, with a length of 256 km, a drop of 960 m, and an average gradient of 3.8 ‰. The river meanders in the hilly and broad valley basin. From the entrance of sangquhui to Zhikong is the middle section, with a length of 138 km, a drop of 360 m, and an average gradient of 2.6 ‰. The width of the river valley gradually widens from more than 700 m to 1-2 km, and terraces on both sides of the river valley develop, It is 157 km long, with a drop of about 300 m, an average gradient of 1.9 ‰ and smooth flow. In the lower reaches above Mozhugongka, the river is relatively straight, the riverbed is relatively stable, and the valley bottom is 1-3km wide; in the lower reaches below Mozhugongka, the river is tortuous, with many branches, and the valley bottom is generally 3-5km wide, reaching 7.8km near Lhasa, which is a typical wide valley reach. There are cowhide boats between Lhasa and Zedang. The area of Lhasa River basin only accounts for 2.7% of the total area of Tibet Autonomous Region, while the population and cultivated land in the basin account for about 15% of the total area of Tibet Autonomous Region. It is a concentrated area of industry, agriculture and animal husbandry in Tibet. Lhasa, an ancient city on the plateau, is located on the right bank of the lower reaches of the river.

Governance and development

Waterway shipping

Lhasa River Bridge

Lhasa River Bridge is a landmark project of Qinghai Tibet railway, with a total length of 928.85 meters and a maximum span of 108 meters. The main bridge adopts a combination system of five span continuous bridge and three span continuous steel arch in the middle, and the main span adopts a double-layer curved arch structure. Both of them are used for the first time in China, ranking first in the world and Asia among similar bridges. The main bridge pier is designed as yak leg type variable cross-section double cylinder pier, and the approach bridge pier is designed as snow lotus type variable cross-section round end pier. The design structure of the bridge is novel, integrating national characteristics and modern style. After the completion of the bridge, the whole body is white, and the continuous arch is like a flying hada facing the golden Potala Palace.

Hydropower development

Zhikong Hydropower Station

Zhikong Hydropower Station is located at the junction of the middle and lower reaches of Lhasa River in Mozhugongka County, 96 kilometers away from Lhasa City, with an altitude of about 3900 meters. The power station is equipped with four vertical shaft Francis turbine generator units, with a total installed capacity of 100000 kWh and an average annual power generation of 407 million kwh. The power supply scope includes the central basin of "one river and two rivers" in Lhasa, Shannan and Shigatse and the Nagqu area where the Qinghai Tibet Railway runs through. It has the functions of flood control and irrigation. Zhikong Hydropower Station is composed of concrete dam, earth rock dam, diversion system and quayside powerhouse. The reservoir has seasonal regulation performance, with normal water level of 3888 meters, design head of 30 meters and dead water level of 3878 meters. The reservoir capacity is 224 million cubic meters and the regulation capacity is 107 million cubic meters. The preliminary work of Zhikong Hydropower Station lasted for 16 years. With the approval of the State Council, in November 2002, the State Development Planning Commission issued an official reply to the construction of Zhikong Hydropower Station by JJ (2002) No. 2338. The project was approved to start in April 2003. The total investment of the project is 1.33695 billion yuan, of which 80% is funded by the state and 20% is loaned by Tibet electric power company.

The construction period of Zhikong Hydropower Station is 53 months. The main project was officially started on May 18, 2003. The first phase of cofferdam closure was carried out in mid November 2003, and the second phase of cofferdam closure was carried out in late October 2005. The first unit generated electricity in mid December 2006, and the project was completed on September 30, 2007.

Zhikong Hydropower Station is a key power construction project which is delivered by the state to the State Power Corporation. The State Power Corporation of China takes Guodian power (2002) 938 wenmingke Tibet power company as the legal person of Zhikong Hydropower Station construction project, and is fully responsible for the construction, management and operation of Zhikong Hydropower Station. Zhikong Hydropower Station is one of the key projects under construction in Tibet during the 10th Five Year Plan period, and it is also the largest hydropower construction project in Western Tibet. After the completion of the power station, as the backbone power supply of central Tibet power grid, it will play an important role in optimizing the operation conditions of the power grid, easing the contradiction of power demand in central Tibet power grid, and promoting the all-round development of Tibet's economy and society.

Reservoir construction

River Dam

According to the water resources department of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Tibet will build four dams in the urban section of the Lhasa River to alleviate desertification in part of the Lhasa River Basin. It is reported that this project is a cooperation project of Lhasa River landscape engineering, which will make Lhasa River form a larger water surface in dry season or normal season. Every winter, the Lhasa River enters the dry season, and part of the river basin becomes sandy beach, which makes the desertification increasingly serious. After the completion of the dam, the water will be released in the dry season to increase the flow of the river bed and form a wide water surface, which will alleviate the desertification of Lhasa River in winter

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The Lhasa River landscape project with a total investment of about 3 billion yuan is a systematic project covering water conservancy, transportation, environment and other fields, with 18 km of river training. The whole project is expected to be completed in 2014. At that time, Lhasa will increase water tourism projects such as Tibetan wooden boats to attract tourists to enjoy the scenery along the river. It is understood that the main task of the dam construction project is to prevent flood and change the urban water environment, so as to comprehensively improve the quality of water ecological environment. The water retaining structures (gates and non Overflow Dams) in the central urban section of Lhasa River are checked according to the 50 year return period flood and the 100 year return period flood.

Tourism development

It has a great influence on the development of Lhasa. Lhasa people love this river very much. Every weekend or holiday, groups of Lhasa people drive or walk to the banks and valleys of the Lhasa River, set up tents, or walk

Chinese PinYin : La Sa He