Damxung

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Damxung is a small modern Tibetan town of low-barrack like buildings and is the administrative centre of Damxung County near Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Unlike many of the quaint old Tibetan settlements in the more southern farming areas of Tibet this town is modern, built up during the 1960s by the Chinese. Damxung is an important spot in the region for government functions and general supplies. It has a large warehouse set back from the main street where basic necessities and warm clothes can be bought for trekking through the mountains. Its nearest towns are Yangpachen to the south and Nagqu to the north.

A major Tibetan festival called Dajyur takes place at Damxung at the beginning of the eighth month of the lunar calendar (solar September) for ten days of festivity attracting nomads to compete in horse racing events, bicycle riding contests, rock-carrying competitions and other forms of merriment.