Evolution of Administrative System of Nyemo County

Nyemo means wheat ear in the Tibetan language. During the Tubo Dynasty, Nyemo County was under the jurisdiction of Sumru, bordering regional states including Nyangro Xangpo in Outer Xizang, and was conquered in the reign of Namri Songtsen. The county was successively known as Nyemo Zhug, Nyemo Qika and Nyemo Menka in history. Geographically, it has long been part of Outer Xizang.

In the 16th year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1751, the Metal Sheep Year of the 13th Rabjung in the Tibetan calendar), apart from the fief of the Tunba aristocrats, two county-level local administrative authorities were established in Nyemo: Nyemo Menka Dzong (commonly referred to as Nyemo Dzong, with its administrative seat in present-day Nyemo Township) and Magyang Goba (Goba means tribal chieftain). They were recorded as Niemu Battalion and Ma'erjiang Battalion in Qing Dynasty historical documents.

In the 36th year of the Republic of China (1947, the Fire Pig Year of the 16th Rabjung), the local government of Xizang confiscated Nyemo Menka Manor. In 1950 (the Iron Tiger Year of the 16th Rabjung), the manor was granted to Lukhang, the acting regent, as his estate for official stipends. After Lukhang was dismissed from office in 1952, the local government took back Nyemo Menka Manor, put it under direct administration and appointed a sixth-rank lay official to manage it.

On May 23, 1951, plenipotentiary representatives of the Central People's Government and the local government of Xizang signed the Agreement of the Central People's Government and the Local Government of Xizang on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Xizang (known as the Seventeen-Point Agreement) in Beijing. In accordance with the agreement, Nyemo Dzong and Magyang Goba remained under the administration of the local government of Xizang.

In March 1959, reactionary upper-class forces in Xizang launched an armed rebellion. The Chinese People's Liberation Army was ordered to suppress the uprising and completely eliminated rebel armed forces in Nyemo, restoring social order. In the same year, work teams were dispatched to the area. Nyemo Menka Manor and Magyang Dzong were merged to form Nyemo County, and the People's Government of Nyemo County was founded under the jurisdiction of Lhasa. Since then, power has been handed over to the people, and serfs have truly stood up and become masters of their own land.