Country China County Nagchu County Local time Monday 9:40 AM | Prefecture Nagchu Prefecture Time zone CST (UTC+8) | |
 | ||
Weather -14°C, Wind E at 5 km/h, 86% Humidity | ||
Nagqu Town, also known as Nagchu or Naqu (Chinese: 那曲; pinyin: Nàqū), is a town in northern Tibet, seat of Nagqu Prefecture, approximately 328 km (204 mi) by road north-east of the capital Lhasa, within the People's Republic of China.
It is connected by the Qingzang railway at 4,526 m (14,849 ft).
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 4,436 m (14,554 ft). 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 4,334 m (14,219 ft).
With all months having a mean temperature below 10 °C, Nagqu has an alpine climate (Köppen EH), with long, very cold and dry winters, and short, cool summers. due to the town's high altitude.