Recently, the Nyingchi Prefecture Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region disclosed to the media that the State Council has approved the revocation of Nyingchi Prefecture and Nyingchi County, establishing Nyingchi as a prefecture-level city. This marks the third such approval in Tibet following Shigatse and Chamdo, bringing the total number of Tibetan prefecture-level cities to four: Lhasa, Shigatse, Chamdo, and Nyingchi. It is reported that the next step will involve conducting various election processes for the transition from prefecture to city, and refining the organizational structure of the municipal government.
Meanwhile, the establishment of Nyingchi City also brings new requirements for urban planning. It is understood that Nyingchi has already begun upgrading its overall urban planning, inviting Professor Chen Keshi, Chief Designer of Zhongying Metropolis and professor at Peking University, to serve as the chief planning consultant. Leading the Zhongying Metropolis design team, he will undertake the master planning and design of Nyingchi City. Professor Chen Keshi stated that, given Nyingchi’s existing natural and resource conditions, the city has the potential to be developed into a "green new pastoral city."
Nyingchi's Prefecture-to-City Transition Calls for Upgraded Urban Planning
Located in southeastern Tibet, Nyingchi lies along the middle and lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, with an average altitude of 3,100 meters. Boasting a moist climate and picturesque scenery, it is known as the "Jiangnan of Tibet" and the "Switzerland of the East," and is also a shining pearl on China’s most scenic highway, National Route 318. As the gateway to Tibet, Nyingchi’s strategic regional location and pristine forest landscape give it a unique urban character blending modernity and ethnicity. Professor Chen Keshi of Zhongying Metropolis believes that Nyingchi has the potential to develop into a world-class tourism destination, supported by its growing visibility, reputation, and city image.
Jiangnan of Tibet — Nyingchi
Regarding the prefecture-to-city transition of Nyingchi, Professor Chen Keshi of Zhongying Metropolis noted that besides the administrative upgrade, the city’s urban planning must also be adjusted accordingly. The road planning, urban layout, and landscape design of Bayi Town—Nyingchi’s former core—need to be upgraded. Only through such enhancements can Nyingchi truly transform from a town into a city and meet the developmental needs of a prefecture-level municipality.
As one of China’s foremost urban planning and design experts, Professor Chen Keshi has made outstanding contributions to China’s urban planning in recent years. He not only pioneered the planning concepts of the "green new pastoral city" and "urban humanism," but also actively incorporated and adapted successful international urban design ideas, aiming to highlight the originality, regional identity, and artistry of each city’s design. He opposes the "sameness of cities" and strives to maximize their unique value.
Jiangnan of Tibet — Nyingchi
Building on this, Professor Chen of Zhongying Metropolis has previously applied the "green new pastoral city" planning concept to cities such as Chengdu, Shenzhen, and Kunming. However, he also pointed out that although everyone yearns for pastoral cities and the state strongly supports the construction of green new pastoral cities, many cities have fallen into the trap of homogenization due to improper planning. Thus, not every city can become a "green new pastoral city." To build such a city, it must first possess pastoral-style natural landscapes, and its urban planning must not be compromised by the ideologies of "functionalism" and "mechanical aesthetics." By these standards, the newly established Nyingchi City, rich in tourism resources, absolutely has the potential to become a model of a "green new pastoral city."
New Nyingchi City: A Future World-Class Tourism Destination
After comprehensively assessing Nyingchi’s geographical, natural, and cultural resources, Zhongying Metropolis proposed three key planning goals for the city: to establish Nyingchi as a world-class tourism destination, a city within the forest, and the cultural capital of the Gongbo Tibetan people. Upon completion of the overall plan, Nyingchi will realize its vision of becoming a "high-altitude forest ecological international tourism city." Professor Chen Keshi of Zhongying Metropolis explained that the theory of green new pastoral cities emphasizes integrating forest and farmland landscapes into the urban fabric as organic components. Based on this theory, the strategy to develop Nyingchi as a city within the forest was born. The city’s planning emphasizes ecological and low-carbon principles, promoting eco-friendly communities, developing urban greenways, protecting the Nyang River and surrounding natural forests, and preserving farmland and green spaces between and within urban clusters. By coordinating relationships between people, nature, urban areas, and rural areas, the plan significantly increases vegetation, protects and restores landscapes, and successfully establishes Nyingchi’s new forest city image. On this foundation, Zhongying Metropolis has developed five premium tourism projects for Nyingchi: the Nyang River Waterfront Leisure and Tourism Belt, the Nyingchi Gongbo Culture and Art Center, the Tibetan Medicine Planting Experience Garden, the Conference and Holiday Tourism Service Center, and the Eco-Mountain Sports Park.
Overview of Nyingchi’s Natural Conditions
As a frontier region for Tibet’s future tourism development, Nyingchi possesses advantages in history, culture, environment, and transportation. Within the broader context of the autonomous region’s macro development, it should focus on growing its tourism, leisure, wellness, and resort industries while improving service quality. It is positioned to serve as the gateway and regional hub for tourism development in the region. Once Nyingchi overcomes policy constraints and establishes a sizable and distinctive tourism sector, it can better align with Tibet’s goal of building a world-class tourism brand, further advancing the region’s tourism growth and expanding its visitor base. In the future, Nyingchi City’s development will become a key engine and driving force for economic growth in southeastern Tibet, as well as a catalyst for development in surrounding areas.
Distribution of Nyingchi’s Tourism Resources
The Party Central Committee has put forward the urban planning philosophy of "integrating cities into nature, enabling residents to see the mountains, see the water, and remember their roots." From Zhongying Metropolis’s perspective, this is a detailed explanation of the green new pastoral city. In this regard, Professor Chen of Zhongying Metropolis stated that more Chinese cities will join the ranks of "green new pastoral cities" in the future, and Nyingchi, as one of the cities with the greatest development potential, is expected to become a model for constructing such cities.