Shigatse
Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê (; ), is a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, with an area of . It is located within the historical Tsang province of Tibet. Overview. The administrative center of the prefecture-level city is the Samzhubzê District. It is roughly equivalent to the ancient Shigatse urban center, the second-largest city in Tibet, located about southwest of Lhasa and home to the Tashilhunpo Monastery, traditionally the seat of the Panchen Lama. Some of the towns in the prefecture are: Gyantse (Gyantse County), Tingri (Tingri County), and Nyalam  (Nyalam County). On 11 July 2014 Shigatse Prefecture was upgraded into a prefecture-level city (the same status as Lhasa). Transport. Rail. The Lhasa–Xigazê Railway connects Xigazê Railway Station with Lhasa and further connects with Qinghai via Qinghai–Tibet Railway. It takes about 3 hours to travel between Lhasa and Shigatse by train. It is possible to get back to Lhasa within the same day by train. Air. Shigatse Peace Airport began operations on 30 October 2010 after an Airbus A319 landed safely, making it Tibet's fifth commercial airport. It is located 43 kilometres from Samzhubzê District at  Jangdam Township at an elevation of 3,782 metres. The airport will be capable of supporting 230,000 passengers annually by 2020. Road. China National Highway 318 and China National Highway 219 are the main roads in and out of Shigatse. Climate. Shigatse has an elevation-influenced humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification: "Dwb").