Xiayadong Township

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Xiayadong Township
下亚东乡
གྲོ་མོ་སྨད་ཆུས
Dromo Mechü
Xiayadong Township is located in China
Xiayadong Township
Xiayadong Township
Xiayadong Township is located in Tibet
Xiayadong Township
Xiayadong Township
Coordinates: 27°25′46″N 88°55′39″E / 27.42944°N 88.92750°E / 27.42944; 88.92750
CountryChina
Autonomous regionTibet
Prefecture-level cityShigatse
CountyYadong County
Area
 • Total204.7 km2 (79.0 sq mi)
Population
 (2018)[1]
 • Total897
 • Density4.4/km2 (11/sq mi)

Xiayadong Township (simplified Chinese: 下亚东乡; traditional Chinese: 下亞東鄉; pinyin: Xiàyàdōng Xiāng; lit. 'Lower Yadong'), known in Tibetan as Dromo Mechü (Tibetan: གྲོ་མོ་སྨད་ཆུས, Wylie: gro-mo smad-chus) is a township in the Chumbi Valley in Yadong County, Shigatse, in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.[2] Much of the township's area comprises disputed territory: the township spans an area of 204.7 square kilometres (79.0 sq mi), excluding disputed territory,[3] and 650.88 square kilometres (251.31 sq mi) including it.[1] Xiayadong Township's population totaled 897 as of 2018.[1]

The township straddles the disputed Bhutan-China border, near the sites of the 2017 China-India border standoff.

Map
Xiayadong Township in Yadong County, along with territories in Bhutan claimed by China as part of the Township.[a]

Geography[edit]

The township's center is the village of Rinchengang, on the bank of the Amo Chu valley, which also receives the track from Sikkim's Jelep La pass. In addition to Rinchengang, the township also includes the Geling, Chema and Pipitang villages upstream along the Amo Chu, and Assam-Rotsa (or Asamthang) downstream.[4]

In addition, the Township includes large territories in Bhutan that China claims. These include the Doklam region, Lulin and Charitang. These claims however do not find historical support in the testimony of British Indian officials.[b]

Demographics[edit]

As of 2018, Xiayadong Township has a population of 897.[1] The township had a population of 1,097 as of 2010.[3]

Administrative divisions[edit]

Xiayadong administers two administrative villages: Rinchengang and Chema.[7]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

Map by Waddell
  1. ^ The borders are marked by contributors to OpenStreetMap. They may not be fully accurate.
  2. ^ According to John Claude White, the British Political Officer in Sikkim in early 20th century, the border between Tibet and Bhutan was somewhere between the Langmarpo and Charitang rivers.[5] Orientalist L. Austine Waddell also shows the border between Tibet and Bhutan running from the Mount Gipmochi, via Sinchela, to the Charitang river. (Charitang is incorrectly labelled as Langmarpo.)[6]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d 中国县域统计年鉴·2019(乡镇卷) (in Chinese). Beijing: 中国统计出版社, 国家统计局农村社会经济调查司. May 2020. p. 598. ISBN 9787503791390.
  2. ^ 2020年统计用区划代码(亚东县) [2020 Statistical Division Codes (Yadong County)] (in Chinese). National Bureau of Statistics of China. 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-10-10. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  3. ^ a b 下亚东乡 [Xiayadong Township]. www.citypopulation.de (in Chinese). Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  4. ^ White 1909, pp. 111–112.
  5. ^ White 1909, p. 112: "Over the Kyanka [Charitang river] there was a good new bridge, which we crossed, and passed under a cave, or rather two overhanging rocks, named Tak-phu, which were pointed out as being in Bhutanese territory."
  6. ^ White 1909, p. 112: "but I found the map was wrong, and that the stream marked Langmarpu-chhu is really the Kyanka, a second stream which we had already crossed higher up being the Langmarpu-chhu."
  7. ^ 2020年统计用区划代码和城乡划分代码(下亚东乡) [2020 Statistical Division Codes and Urban-Rural Division Codes (Xiayadong Township)] (in Chinese). National Bureau of Statistics of China. 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-10-10. Retrieved 2021-10-10.

Bibliography[edit]