Nagqu Town
Nagqu, Nagchu in original Tibetan or Naqu, also known as Nagchuka or Nagquka, is a town in northern Tibet, seat of the prefecture-level city of Nagqu, approximately by road north-east of the capital Lhasa, within the People's Republic of China.
Nagqu railway station to the town's west sits on the Qingzang railway at. "Ngachu is an important stop on both the road and railway line between Qīnghǎi and Tibet. In fact, this is where Hwy 317 ends as it joins the Qīnghǎi–Tibet Hwy on its way to Lhasa."
At the time of the visit in 1950 of Thubten Jigme Norbu, the elder brother of Tenzin Gyatso the 14th Dalai Lama, Nagchukha was a small town with only a few clay huts but was also the headquarters of the District Officer, the Dzongpön. It was on the main caravan route coming from Amdo to Central Tibet.
China is planning to build Nagqu Airport, the highest airport in the world at an altitude of. The construction is planned to start in 2011 and expected to take three years to complete. When completed, it will overtake the current highest, Qamdo Bangda Airport, with an elevation of.
With all months having a mean temperature below 10 °C, due to the town's very high altitude, Nagqu has an alpine climate, with long, very cold and dry winters, and short, cool summers.
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