The county has a rich history of folk tales, myths, legends, proverbs and folk songs and has many caves, rock paintings and other relics. The Xinjiang-Tibet Highway runs through the Rutog County for 340 km (210 mi). The modern county established in March 1961 covers 74,500 km2 (28,800 sq mi). It has a very low population density with a population of just over 10,000.
Name
'Rutog' is Tibetan for "mountain shaped like a spear and fork".[11]
Geography and climate
Rutog County is located in northwestern Tibet, Ngari northwest with a number of territorial borders. It is divided into 12 townships and 30 village committees. The Karakoram Mountains go through the county. The average altitude of 4,500 m (14,800 ft) with a maximum altitude of 6,800 m (22,300 ft).
Overall Rutog County has a rough subarctic climate with long, very cold, sometimes snowy winters and short, cool, humid summers (Dfc) owing its extreme altitude.
Rutog was part of the Maryul kingdom (modern Ladakh), when it was established in the 10th century. It was again consolidated as part of Ladakh during the reign of Sengge Namgyal, but was later conquered by Lhasa through the Tibet-Ladakh-Mughal War. Rutog and Ladakh continued to have extensive trading relations at all times, with occasional disputes over borders.
The headquarters of the region was at Old Rudok (Rutog Dzong; 33°25′03″N79°38′34″E / 33.4175°N 79.6427°E / 33.4175; 79.6427 (Rutog Dzong)), a hill top location, which boasted a fort as well as several monasteries. During the period of the British Raj in India, European visitors were expressly prohibited from visiting the Rudok, but the British official E. B. Wakefield managed to visit it in 1939.
Rutog County's economy is based around farming and animal husbandry. Aside from wool, butter, hides, cattle cashmere, etc. are produced. In Rutog County, the main growing crop is barley and yaks, sheep, goats, horses and other livestock are important to the economy. Rutog County has many wild animals and plants, including the black-necked crane, goose, wild yak, Tibetan antelope, Mongolian gazelle, black sheep, kiang, and bear. A number of rare animals are protected by the government and are of high value. Known mineral resources are gold, lead, chromite, borax, and salt.
In the five years from 2006–2011, Rutog County produced 72 tons of cashmere wool worth 16 million yuan ($2.5 million USD in 2011).[17] China produces 75% of the world's cashmere wool.[18]
In 1984, the average per capita income of Rutog County residents was 478 yuan.[19]
At around 11 AM on July 17, 2016, nine people, 350 sheep and 110 yaks were buried in an avalanche near the Aru Lake (at 34°02′45.4″N82°17′24.6″E / 34.045944°N 82.290167°E / 34.045944; 82.290167 (Avalanche location)), about 250 kilometres (160 mi) from Rutog Town . The avalanche fell on a grazing area and the snow was as much as 8 m (26 ft) deep. The local government dispatched rescuers and equipment to the site of the avalanche.[6][20][21] The avalanche was described by NASA as one of the largest avalanches in history.[22][23] On September 21, 2016, another similarly large avalanche occurred just to the south.[24][13]
Historical maps
Historical maps including Rutog:
Map of the expeditions of Sven Hedin (1906-8) including Rutog (labeled as Rudok) (RGS, early 20th century)
Map including Rutog (labeled as Rudok) (AMS, 1950)[a]
^"阿里地区第七次全国人口普查主要数据公报" (in Chinese). Administrative Commission of Ngari Prefecture. 2021-06-10.
^ abcde日土县历史沿革 [Rutog County Historical Development] (in Simplified Chinese). XZQH.org. 5 April 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2019. 1961年3月设立日土县，由新疆维吾尔自治区管辖，1978年划归西藏自治区，隶属阿里地区管辖至今。{...}1996年，日土县面积8.1万平方千米，人口约0.61万人，均为藏族。{...}2000年第五次人口普查，日土县常住总人口7175人，{...}2008年，全县面积7.70万多平方千米，人口0.87万人。2010年第六次人口普查，日土县常住总人口9738人，其中，日土镇3057人，热帮乡2242人，日松乡1921人，东汝乡1278人，多玛乡1240人。
.png)
![Map including Rutog (labeled as Rudok) (AMS, 1950)[a]](/en/File:Txu-oclc-6654394-ni-44-3rd-ed.jpg)
