Wenbu, Double Lake and the Depopulated Land

Western Changtang (or Qangtang) refers to the depopulated land in the west Xainza Tsangpo River, totals more than 200,000 square kilometers. The average elevation there is above 5,000 meters. Since the climate there is cold and the air is rare, it is regarded as Life Forbidden Zone. No people lived there before 1970s’ until the government invested in exploring the depopulated area, and set up two offices (Double Lake and Wenbu) in Western Xainza. Offices in Double Lake and Wenbu serve as two counties. The Nagqu government encouraged part of the herdsman to settle there and provide considerable amounts of family steadied allowance. Even though, in the 200,000 square kilometers land, there is only one person to 6 square kilometers.