Situated at the juncture of rivers Yarlung Tsangpo and Nyangchu, Shigatse is an ancient city on the Plateau of which its history can be traced back to more than 500 years. With its altitude of 3,800m, Shigatse covers a total area of 182,000sq.km. in 18 counties. With population of 635,200 under its jurisdiction, Shigatse is historically named “Nyangme” which means “the lower reaches of the Nyangchu River” in Tibetan. In the past it belonged to the region of Tsang. During the Tubo Dynasty, “U-Tsang” area was divided into “the Four Ru” and this area was “The Yi Ru”, a part of “Rula”. 

During the Yuan Dynasty, Pakpa, the head of the Sakya Sect, took Sakya as a center to institute local administrative authority in actual control of all Tibet by the support of the Yuan imperial court. The Sakya regime was authorized to take control over”13 Myriarchies” (communities of 10,000 households each) and the chief tain of each myriarchy was directly was appointed by the Yuan imperial court out of which 40,000 households were in today’s Shigatse area. In the later period of  Phakmo Drupa Dynasty, the Rinpungpa families took over the Tsang area(in Shigatse) and established its political power on the basis of Shigatse. Later Tsangpa Khan overthrew the Phakmo Drupa Dynasty to establish the Desi system and exercised authority over the whole region which had once led Shigatse to become the center of politics, economy and culture across the whole of Tiber. 

In 17th century, after Gushi Khan helped Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso, the 5th Dalai Lama, to perish Tsangpa Khan, the 4th Panchen moved into the Tashilunpo Monastery marking the beginning of local rule through the Panchen’s leadership under the jurisdiction of the Central Government of Qing Dynasty. Today’s Shigatse has become the second largest city in Tibet. The prosperous living in Shigatse bears comparison with that in Lhasa.

Tashilhunpo

In the 19th century the "Tashi" or Panchen Lama had temporal power over Tashilhunpo Monastery and three small districts, though not over the town of Shigatse itself, which was administered by two Dzongpön (Prefects) appointed from Lhasa.[2] Before military conflict between the PRC's People's Liberation Army and the Central Tibetan Administration, the Tibetan territory was divided into 53 prefecture districts called Dzongs.

There were two Dzongpöns for every Dzong—a lama (Tse-dung) and a layman. They were entrusted with both civil and military powers and are equal in all respects, though subordinate to the generals and the Chinese Amban in military matters.[4] However, there were only one or two Ambans representing the Chinese emperor residing in Lhasa, directing a little garrison, and their power installed since 1728, progressively declined to end-up as observer at the eve of their expulsion in 1912 by the 13th Dalai Lama.[3] In 1952, shortly after the PRC sent forces to the region, Shigatse had a population of perhaps 12,000 people, making it the second largest city in Tibet.