On May 7, 2018, the former Nagqu Prefecture was officially declared the sixth prefecture-level city in Tibet after Lhasa, Shigatse, Chamdo, Nyingchi and Shannan.

[1] Since its official establishment in 2018, it is the largest prefecture-level city by area in the world,[2] being slightly larger than Sweden.

The main city of Nagqu is along the China National Highway 109, 330 kilometres (210 mi) northeast of Lhasa.

Every August (the sixth month in the Tibetan calendar), Nagqu hosts the Kyagqen Horse Race, a major event locally attracting tens of thousands of herdsmen to participate in horseracing and archery contests.

The dzong architecture of Dangnuoqiong was the center of middle Zhangzhung, it was located round the lake of Tangra Yumco in the southwest of Nagqu.

In 1751, Kanxiang Dzong (坎襄宗) in Nagqu was formed to the direct rule of the Kashag Government, and part of the area was under the jurisdiction of Panchen.

In 1942, the prefecture of Changchub Chikyab (Standard Tibetan: བྱང་ཆུབ་སྤྱི་ཁྱབ་, romanized: byang chub spyi khyab, Chinese: 绛曲基巧) was formed.

In 1951, the seat of Changchub Chikyab Prefecture was Nagqu (Heihe) Town, the prefecture administered the pasture land to the northern Lhasa and 6 dzongs in Heihe area, the Conference Hall of Panchen Chamber (班禅堪布会议厅) administered Damusajia Dzong (达木萨迦宗).

[1] The former Nagqu Prefecture was approved for prefecture-level city status on October 2, 2017, by the State Council,[4] and it was officially established on May 7, 2018.

The region contains 81% of Tibet's lakes, covering a total area of over 30,000 square kilometres (12,000 sq mi).

Notable lakes include Namtso, spanning Nagqu's Baingoin County and neighboring Lhasa prefecture-level city's Damxung County with a surface area of 1,920 km2 (740 sq mi), and Siling Lake (Qilin) spanning Baingoin and Xainza counties, which at 1,865 square kilometres (720 sq mi) is the second largest saltwater lake in the northern Tibetan Plateau.

[9] The principal rivers of Nagqu are the Dangqu, Zhajia Zangbo, Jiagang Zangbu, Suoqu, Xiaqu, Benqu, Ba Qingqu, and Yiqu with hundreds more throughout the region.

[citation needed] Purugangri Glacier is located about 560 kilometres (350 mi) from Nagqu town within Qiangtang Nature Reserve, at 6,000 to 6,800 metres above sea level.

[10] Nagqu is a natural disaster-prone region, being affected by monsoon climate, plate geology movements, plus complex terrain and other disaster-causing factors.

[citation needed] The effects of global warming increasingly pose a problem in the region, with record highs in 2019.

They set up camp in tents in the southern part of the main town and participate in horse racing, horsemanship and archery contests on August 10.

[26] Hats, mostly made from lamb skins and artificial leather and an "antenna-like stripe of fabric at the top" are worn by women during the festival.

There are wild goats, stone sheep, scorpions, donkeys, bears, foxes, wolves, and birds such as Tibetan finch, brown-backed crow, pheasant, vulture, wild ducks, swans, black-necked cranes, and red-crowned cranes.

Cordyceps sinensis is also valued for its effect on the lungs and kidneys,[citation needed] and is eaten as a delicacy in soups in restaurants in countries such as Singapore.

[citation needed] Due to the region being too cold for trees to grow, the Chinese government are considering using solar power to introduce new forested areas to Nagqu, though it is not believed to be economically sustainable.