Historic city · Cultural centre · Border city · Tibet
Shigatse
日喀则
Seat of the Panchen Lamas and gateway to Everest
Shigatse is a prefecture-level city in southern Tibet and the traditional capital of Tsang, the western half of central Tibet. Its Tashilhunpo Monastery has been the seat of the Panchen Lamas since the seventeenth century, and its territory, bordering Nepal, Bhutan and India, includes the north side of Mount Everest and the historic towns of Gyantse and Sakya.
Key facts
Overview
The city lies at about 3,850 metres where the Nyang River joins the Yarlung Tsangpo, in a farming valley west of Lhasa. It was the seat of the kings of Tsang, who ruled much of central Tibet in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, and of the Panchen Lamas, the second-ranking lamas of the Gelug school.
The prefecture stretches along the Himalaya from the Bhutanese border to beyond the Nepalese crossings at Gyirong. It contains Everest and four other eight-thousand-metre peaks, and the monasteries of Sakya, Shalu and Gyantse that are central to Tibetan art history.
Names and nicknames
后藏
“rear Tibet”
Chinese name for Tsang, the region west of Ü, of which Shigatse is the centre.
桑珠孜
Samdrubtse, the name of the fortress (dzong) above the town and of the central district.
History
Sakya Monastery, founded in 1073, became the seat of the Sakya lamas who governed Tibet under Mongol Yuan oversight in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. In 1447 Gendun Drup, later counted as the First Dalai Lama, founded Tashilhunpo at Shigatse. From the late sixteenth century the kings of Tsang ruled from the Samdrubtse fortress until the Fifth Dalai Lama's Mongol allies defeated them in 1642. The Fifth Dalai Lama gave his teacher, the abbot of Tashilhunpo, the title of Panchen Lama, and the monastery has been the seat of the Panchen Lamas since. In 1904 the British expedition fought a battle at the fortress of Gyantse. The succession of the Eleventh Panchen Lama, identified by the Dalai Lama in 1995, is disputed, as the Chinese government enthroned a different candidate in the same year. Shigatse became a prefecture-level city in 2014, the year the railway from Lhasa arrived.
1073
Sakya Monastery founded
Seat of the Sakya school, whose leaders governed Tibet under the Mongol Yuan dynasty.
1418–1430s
Pelkor Chöde and the Kumbum at Gyantse
The monastery and its great multi-chapel stupa, filled with murals and statues, are masterpieces of fifteenth-century Tibetan art.
1447
Tashilhunpo founded
Founded by Gendun Drup, a disciple of Tsongkhapa, it became one of the great Gelug monasteries.
1642
Fall of the kings of Tsang
Gushri Khan's Mongol forces defeated the Tsang ruler, making the Fifth Dalai Lama ruler of Tibet.
1904
Battle of Gyantse Dzong
The British expedition stormed the fortress on its way to Lhasa.
1995
Disputed recognition of the Eleventh Panchen Lama
The Dalai Lama and the Chinese government recognised different candidates; the boy named by the Dalai Lama was taken into state custody in May 1995.
2014
City status and railway
The prefecture became a prefecture-level city, and the Lhasa–Shigatse railway opened.
Landmarks
Temple or shrine
Tashilhunpo Monastery
扎什伦布寺
Seat of the Panchen Lamas, with a giant seated statue of Maitreya and the tomb stupas of former Panchen Lamas.
Historic site
Samdrubtse Dzong
桑珠孜宗堡
Fortress on the ridge above the old town, the former seat of the kings of Tsang, rebuilt in the 2000s.
Temple or shrine
Pelkor Chöde and Gyantse Kumbum
白居寺
Monastery in Gyantse housing different schools, with a many-chapelled stupa of painted chapels.
Temple or shrine
Sakya Monastery
萨迦寺
Fortress-like monastery with grey walls striped in red and white, and a large library of manuscripts.
Nature
Rongbuk Monastery and Everest north side
绒布寺
Monastery at about 5,000 m below the north face of Everest, within the Qomolangma National Nature Reserve.
Neighbourhoods
Samdrubtse district
桑珠孜区
The city proper, with Tashilhunpo and the old town below the fortress.
Gyantse
江孜
Historic town east of Shigatse on the route to Lhasa, known for its fortress, monastery and carpets.
Tingri
定日
County on the high plain facing Everest and Cho Oyu.
Food
Tsampa
糌粑
Roasted barley flour, the staple of the Tsang farming valleys.
Chang
青稞酒
Barley beer, brewed in households and served at festivals.
Air-dried yak meat
风干牦牛肉
Eaten as a snack or cooked in stews.
Culture
Shigatse is the centre of Tsang culture, with its own dialect and traditions. Tashilhunpo displays a giant thangka each summer, and the monastery's cham dances are performed at religious festivals. Gyantse is known for carpet weaving and for its horse-racing festival, and Sakya for the red, white and grey painting of its houses, the colours of the Sakya school.
Mountains and nature nearby
Getting around
- Shigatse station is the terminus of the railway from Lhasa, and Shigatse Peace Airport serves the region.
- Roads lead west along the Friendship Highway to Tingri, the Everest region and the Nepalese border at Gyirong.
- Travel to the Everest region and border areas requires additional permits for foreign visitors, arranged with the Tibet Travel Permit.
Day trips
Shalu Monastery
夏鲁寺
Eleventh-century monastery south of the city with glazed-tile roofs in Chinese style and fourteenth-century murals.
Qomolangma National Nature Reserve
珠穆朗玛峰国家级自然保护区
The protected area around Everest and the neighbouring peaks, best visited overnight from Tingri.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Shigatse Municipal People's Government — Shigatse Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Tibet — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)