Shannan Prefecture ( ; simplified Chinese: 山南地区; pinyin: Shānnán Dìqū) is a prefecture in the Southeastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region. It means 'South of the Mountains' in Chinese. It contains the ancient region of Yarlong, the birthplace of Tibetan civilisation.
As of 2002 it has a population of 320,000 and an area of 79.699 km². Much of Shannan Prefecture encompass the western part of the Indian district of Arunachal Pradesh, a disputed area with China.
The Samye and the Changzhug monasteries are located in Shannan Prefecture, as well as Tsetang, Tibet's third largest town. Shannan is predominantly inhabited by members of the Monpa ethnic group.
The beautiful Gelugpa Tawang Monastery, was founded in 1681 according to the wishes of the Fifth Dalai Lama. It is located in Tawang District, which is an area claimed by China and administratively placed under Shannan's jurisdiction by a Chinese sovereignty claim, but is currently governed by India as part of north-western Arunachal Pradesh state.
