The administrative center of the prefecture-level city is the Samzhubzê District. It is roughly equivalent to the ancient Shigatse urban center, the second-largest city in Tibet, located about 280 km (174 miles) southwest of Lhasa and home to the massive and magnificent Tashilhunpo Monastery, traditionally the seat of the Panchen Lama.

　　Some of the towns included in the prefecture are: Gyantse (Gyantse County), Tingri (Tingri County), and Nyalam (Nyalam County).

　　On 11 July 2014 Shigatse Prefecture was upgraded into a prefecture-level city (the same status as Lhasa).

　　TransportRailThe Lhasa–Xigazê Railway connects Xigazê Railway Station with Lhasa and further connects with Qinghai via Qinghai–Tibet Railway.

Shigatse

　 Air

  Shigatse Peace Airport began operations on 30 October 2010 after an Airbus A319 landed safely, This makes it Tibet's fifth commercial airport. It is located 43 kilometers from Samzhubzê District at Jiangdang Village at an altitude of 3,782 meters. The airport is designed to handle up to 230,000 passengers annually by 2020.

　 Road

  China National Highway 318 and China National Highway 219 are the main roads in and out of Shigatse.