Nyingchi

Nyingchi is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Tibet, established in 2015 from the former Nyingchi Prefecture and lying at a far lower elevation than Lhasa, which gives it a mild, green landscape often called the "Jiangnan of Tibet" or Tibet's Switzerland. Deep river valleys carved by the Yarlung Tsangpo make this one of the most biodiverse regions on the plateau, home to the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, among the deepest canyons on Earth, overlooked by the towering peak of Namcha Barwa. The economy centers on forestry, ecological tourism, Tibetan medicine and prized wild produce such as matsutake mushrooms and cordyceps. Each spring the valleys blaze with wild peach blossom, drawing photographers from across China. The completion of the Lhasa-Nyingchi railway in 2021 and the Mainling airport have transformed access to what was once a remote frontier.