The panorama of Nagqu town, photo by Zhang Xiaoping from China Tibet Information Center.

The Nagqu town.

The street to Nagqu town.

The vista of Nagqu town.

The crossing of a street in Nagqu town.

The Shaten Monastery is surrounded by buildings.

In late March, 2009, Zhang Xiaoping, chief editor of China Tibet Information Center visited Nagqu town in Xigaze prefecture for the sixth time with his colleagues. And this is his latest visit to Nagqu since he left there nine years before.

After passing by Luoma town in Xigaze prefecture, the car took the journalists to the Nagqu town in more than half an hour. Along a wide road in the west of the town, the town with modern street lamps and road signs impressed them with its modern atmosphere. when the car turned southward, the cantonal scene attracted people: busy streets, many shops, heavy traffic, color banners in front of the shops for promotion... In addition, banks, hotels, restaurants, computer store etc. can be seen here and there.  

The former low buildings and old roads had been replaced by modern ones. On the street, journalists found many rural people and visitors for tourism or business. When evening came, the city looked more beautiful.

In the chief editor's memory, the Shaten Monastery was located in the fringe of the town. However this time he found the temple in the street because of the extension of the town. Dubbed as "hotel in the grassland" with "a temple and many tents" 50 years ago, the Nagqu town is no longer what it used to be.

Arranged by the local promotion department, a Tibetan driver who is familiar with the local territory took the chief editor to the mountaintop in the northwest of the town to enjoy the panorama. The Nagqu town in the blue sky was in sight. The chief editor took great efforts to take photos because of excitement.

"Nine years ago I took photos of Nagqu for the first time and nowadays the former location for seeing the panorama is not the best visual angel anymore. Now I need to go to a higher place for that", the chief editor thought when he passed a nun temple, "Nine years later maybe I will have to climb more higher to appreciate the scenery of Nagqu town."