SHIGATSE

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Jih-k'a-tse, Pinyin Xigaz city in the south-central part of the Tibet autonomous ch' (region), China. Situated on a well-defended height (elevation 12,800 feet ) overlooking the confluence of two rivers in one of the most fertile valley areas of Tibet, it is the traditional capital of the area known as Hou-tsang on the Nepal border. It was formerly a small town near one of the largest monasteries in Tibet, the Tashilhunpo, traditional seat of the Panchen Lama. The area was brought under the control of Lhasa, capital of Tibet, in the 1920s, when the Panchen Lama fled to China after a disagreement with the Dalai Lama. Since 1951 the area around the city has been intensively cultivated (wheat and barley), and communications have been improved. Pop. (mid-1980s est.) 10,00050,000.