Wikipedia
Sênggêzangbo (, named after Sênggê Zangbo, a river in Ngari), or Shiquanhe (, i.e. "Lion Spring River Town"), is the main town of Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. Shiquanhe is located on the confluence of Sênggê Zangbo ( Indus River) and Gar River.
Historically the town was also known as Ger. This name, in the form "Gar" , is now used to refer to the entire county; however, as the custom with Chinese county seats is, Gar is often used to refer to the county seat as well, and it may be labeled that way on maps.
Being the main town of Ngari Prefecture (which is known in Chinese under the Sinicized form of its name, Ali Prefecture), the town is also commonly known in English as Ngari or Ali Town; this is what many guidebooks use as the primary name for the town. In Tibetan, Ngari is only the name for the prefecture, and not the town.
The name Shiquanhe is originally the name of the river; in Tibetan, it is Sengge Zangbo (in SASM/GNC/SRC transcriptions, sometimes simply Senge Zangbo), Senge Zangbu or Sengghe Tsangpo (in a transcription used in Western books). The source of that river, a hot spring, supposedly, looks like the lion's mouth; thus the name, interpreted as "river flowing from the lion's mouth".
When the Ngari Prefecture of the PRC was established in 1959, its capital was at the place named Kunsa, located elsewhere in Gar County. It was moved from there to Shiquanhe in 1965, due to the extremely difficult living conditions in Kunsa. At that time, Shiquanhe's population was merely 400.
The modern Chinese-style town is situated at the confluence of the Indus and Gar River. According to a government-affiliated source, the population of Shiquanhe had grown from just over 1,500 to over 20,000 in 30 years (1978–2008), and people there now "enjoy their life because the city has been equipped with culture and commerce facilities". Western guidebook writers have referred to the place as a "concrete monstrosity of a town".
The place has several primary schools and a secondary school.
Ali has two banks, but only the Agricultural Bank of China, near the army post west of the roundabout, will change foreign currency. There is also a main post office near the roundabout.