Map - Lhoka (Shannan) Prefecture (Shannan Diqu)

Shannan, also romanized from Tibetan as Lhoka , is a prefecture-level city in the southeastern Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Shannan includes Gonggar County within its jurisdiction with Gongkar Chö Monastery, Gonggar Dzong, and Gonggar Airport all located near Gonggar town.

Located on the middle and lower reaches of the Yarlung Valley, formed by the Yarlung Tsangpo River, Lhoka region is often regarded as the birthplace of Tibetan civilization. It is bounded by the city of Lhasa to the north, Nyingchi to the east, Shigatse on the west and the international border with India and Bhutan on the south. The city measures 420 km east to west and 329 km from north to south. Its uniqueness stems from the fact that Tibet's earliest agricultural farmland, its first palace and first Buddhist monastery are all located in Lhoka. It also has the distinction of having held the first lhamo performance. Ethnic Tibetans constitute 98% of the population, the remaining 2% being Han, Hui, Mönpa, Lhoba and other ethnic groups.

Shannan has 1 district and 11 counties and its capital is Tsetang, which is located 183 kilometres from Lhasa. It covers an area of 79700 km2, which includes part of South Tibet, a disputed territory currently under control of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Its topography averages 3700 m above sea level. The population of Tsetang city was 330,100 as of 2007 with Tibetans accounting for 96% of the total population.

The Lhoka region has not only an ancient historical background but is also the most prosperous in Tibet.

A legend that attests to the position of Lhoka region in the annals of Tibetan history states that human beings are the creation of a union between a sacred monkey and women. According to archaeological findings and legends and ancient documents, people lived in this area up to four million years ago. A primitive civilization grew up in the Yarlung Valley and a field in the village of Sare near Tsetang Town, is said to be the first farming field in Tibet. The first king in Tibetan history, Nyatri Tsenpo, really a mere chief of the Yarlong tribe, began ruling over the Yarlung valley in the beginning of second century BC. He founded the Fan Kingdom and established a hereditary monarchy. During the reign of the ninth king, Budegong, agriculture flourished and he was able to mobilize the people to excavate canal, channelling water to irrigate the flatland. A formal forming system came into existence during the reign of Yixiulie, the eleventh king, when he devised standard measurement units for allocating farmland and counting livestock. Six palaces were built in the region between the rule of the ninth and fifteenth kings.

Around the 6th century AD, the Yarlung Valley became a society which smelted a variety of materials including iron, copper and silver to produce weapons and other objects. The 31st king of Yarlung, Namri Songtsen, was an expansionist and invaded neighbouring tribes, expanding the territory of Yarlung. The 32nd king (who was also the first emperor of Tibet), Songtsän Gampo, conquered Subi tribe, Yangtong tribe and many others and established the Tibetan Empire. Although transferred his capital city from Qiongjie to Lhasa, many of his descendant of the royal lineage still lived in the Lhoka region. He made Yungbulakang Palace his summer palace, which by this time was an important centre for Buddhism and the storage of Buddhist scriptures. In 641 AD, Gampo married Princess Wencheng of the Tang dynasty. During the Tibetan Empire, a great number of irrigation projects developed along the Yarlong River and the Yarlung Tsangpo River, and with the increase of yaks and horses here there was dramatic development in agriculture. However, continued conflict led to endless famine and eventually the collapse of the Tubo regime. In 1253, Möngke Khan, the emperor of the Yuan dynasty, invaded Tibet and united the squabbling tribes into an administrative region, controlled by the central government of the Yuan dynasty in Beijing. However, the dominant tribe in the Yarlung valley during this period was the Pazhu dynasty and in 1322, Qiangqujianqun became the leader of the Pazhu and replenished agricultural activity in the region, funding irrigation works, cultivating lands, reconstructing roads, restoring houses and developing husbandry. Qiangqujiangqun founded the Naidong dynasty which would last for 262 years, introduced the system of feudal serfdom and implemented a new government system with divisions known as Zong, established 13 of them in Nêdong (the capital), Gonggar and so forth.

On May 23 of 1951, a Tibetan delegation signed an agreement with the central government of the People's Republic of China for the "peaceful liberation of Tibet". However, in 1959, the Lhoka was annexed to China by brute force. Many monasteries were destroyed during the invasion and the Yungbulakang Palace was severely damaged.