total area of the Tibet Autonomous Region. It comprises 12 counties, out of which the eight northern counties are the Nedong, Qusum, Qonggyai, Sangri, Comai, Zhanang, Gyacha and Cona in the middle valley of the Yarlung Zangbo, and the remaining four namely, the Gonggar, Lhunzi, Lohozhag and Nagarze are in the Himalayan belt. The Cona, Lhongzi, Nanggarze and Lhozha counties form the International Border. The city's district and counties have 144 townships of which 71 townships are in agricultural sector, 18 are in animal husbandry sector and the balance 55 are a mix of the two sectors. There are also five neighbourhood committees and 719 village committees. The wide Yarlung River flowing from west to east (between Quxu and Gyacha) also known as Tsongpo and the Brahmaputra River in India and Jamuna in Bangladesh, and its tributaries flows through the middle and lower stretches of the city and is bounded by Lhasa on the north, Nyingchi on the east, Shigatse to the west and international border that extends to with India and Bhutan. The river system has provided large perennial source of water in the region of fertile land. The valley created by the river system has very green pasture land and thick forests. The region is studded with hills, valleys, rivers, streams, lakes, hot springs, limestone (karst) caves and many natural scenic regions. The region is also credited with the first “cultivated lands, measured fields, water irrigation, storing the forage grass, moulding metal, and many other techniques”. The natural scenic regions of the city have been categorized under four types. The Yarlung State Scenic Region is one type which has the snow-covered mountains, glaciers, pastures, river valley, alpine vegetation and historical monuments and folk customs and art forms. Hydrology This river area is spread over parts of eight counties of Shannan. Yamzog Yumcog Scenic Region which has lakes, snow-covered mountains, islands, pasture land, hot springs, monasteries and many scenic places, Samyai Scenic Region which has many historical monuments in the counties of Samyi, Songa and Azar towns in the Zanang County and Sacred Lake Scenic Region which is covered by the Sangri, Qusum and Gyacha Counties, are part of this valley. The region has mountains, valleys, rivers, springs, historical architectural monuments and monasteries. The city has rich water resources of the Yarlung Zangbo or Tsongpo as it is known in the short form. It is the mother river of