Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (甘孜藏族自治州)

1. Introduction

Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (Tibetan: དཀར་མཛེས་བོད་རིགས་རང་སྐྱོང་ཁུལ།, Wylie transliteration: dkar-mdzes bod-rigs rang-skyong khul, Tibetan Pinyin: Garzê Poirig Ranggyong Kü), abbreviated as Garzê Prefecture, is an autonomous prefecture under the jurisdiction of Sichuan Province, People's Republic of China, located in the western part of Sichuan. The prefecture borders Ngawa Prefecture and Ya'an City to the east, Liangshan Prefecture and Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province to the south, Qamdo City of the Tibet Autonomous Region to the west, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province to the northwest, and Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province to the north. Situated on the southeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, in the northern section of the Hengduan Mountains, and in the transitional zone between the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and the Sichuan Basin, it belongs to the high mountain and deep valley region of the western Sichuan plateau. The northern part is a branch of the Bayan Har Mountains, the central part is the Shaluli Mountain range, and the eastern part is the Daxue Mountain range. The Jinsha River in the west serves as the boundary river with Qinghai, Tibet, and Yunnan provinces/regions. The Yalong River flows north-south through the central part of the prefecture, and the Dadu River flows through the eastern part. The total area of the prefecture is 149,700 square kilometers, making it the largest prefecture-level administrative division in Sichuan by area. Traditionally part of the Kham region, it has a population of 1.1649 million, with Tibetans accounting for 78.3% of the population. The prefectural capital is located in Kangding City. Garzê is a major pastoral area in the province, with grasslands covering approximately 60% of its area. It boasts beautiful natural scenery, including scenic areas such as Mount Gongga, Hailuogou, and Mount Erlang.

nix

2. History

In ancient times, this area was inhabited by the Qiang and Rong peoples. The establishment of Zuodu County dates back to the early Han Dynasty, when it was under the jurisdiction of Shenli Commandery. During the Three Kingdoms period under the Shu Han regime, it was known as "Dajianlu." In the first year of Emperor Gaozu of Tang's Wude era (618 AD), Jialiang County and Dadu County were established. The northeastern parts of these two counties included the loose-rein prefectures of Zhongchuan, Huiye, and Jinchuan, all under the administration of Ya Prefecture, which was governed by the Jiannan Military Commissioner. During the Song Dynasty, the Eastern and Western Jialiang Prefectures were established. The Yuan Dynasty followed the old system, enfeoffing local chieftains with official positions and implementing the Tusi (native chieftain) system within the prefectures, making it part of the Dokham Tusi territory. The Changhexi Qianhu (Thousand Households) and Changhexi Zhaotao Si (Pacification Commissioner's Office) were established here. In the fifth year of the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty (1407), the "Changhexi Yutong Ningyuan Xuanwei" Pacification Commissioner's Office was officially enfeoffed. In the eighth year of the Yongzheng era of the Qing Dynasty (1730), the Dajianlu Subprefecture was established. In the thirtieth year of the Guangxu era (1904), the Dajianlu Subprefecture was upgraded to Kangding Prefecture. Starting from July in the thirty-second year of the Guangxu era (1906), Zhao Erfeng forcefully implemented the "Gaitu Guiliu" (replacing native chieftains with state-appointed officials) policy, abolishing the Tusi system entirely and establishing the Chuanbian Circuit.

Historical records from the late Qing Dynasty describe Garzê County as "half assimilated in areas near the city and along the main roads, as merchants traveled far and wide, not only familiar with Han Chinese customs but also aware of the customs of various countries." Before its establishment as an administrative unit, Dêgê County was similar to Garzê, and "people liked to worship Guan Yu and the Kitchen God; wherever these were present, one could tell without asking that they were Han Chinese, so traveling along this route required no translation to understand matters." Military campaigns in the Kham region during the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty introduced Central Plains military customs: "The Khampa people, regarding military affairs in Kham and Tibet, only know of 'Lord Yue,' attributing any military achievements to him." Consequently, "even in remote towns and small settlements, there were martial temples, revered by both Han and Tibetan people."

After the implementation of Gaitu Guiliu, local governance was jointly managed by county magistrates appointed by the central government, local Tibetan monasteries, and chieftains. Garzê County bordered the Tibetan region, where "Tibetan officials oppressed the people a hundred times more than Han officials," so "the people in the county held great affection for Han officials. However, Han officials often appointed Tusi chieftains to handle affairs, and thus power fell into the hands of these chieftains." Luding County was described as having "simple and honest customs, with official authority held in high regard, making governance relatively easy." In Litang County, "all administrative affairs were controlled by the Letang Lama Temple within the city," and "the county office merely served to issue announcements from higher authorities to the Lama Temple." In Dawu County, "when encountering strict officials, the people obeyed orders; when encountering lenient officials, they became deliberately stubborn." In Yajiang County, "the county magistrate's authority only extended to nearby villages," and in some areas, "the people were cunning and fierce, compounded by the remote location, making it difficult for official authorities to intervene. Even when government decrees were issued, they were ignored. Any dissatisfaction would lead to confrontation with the county government."

In 1914, the area became part of the Chuanbian Special Administrative Region, later renamed the Chuanbian Circuit. In May 1936, with the assistance of the Red Fourth Front Army, the local Tibetans established the BoBa People's Republic. In 1939, it was transferred to Xikang Province. On November 25, 1950, the Xikang Province Tibetan Autonomous Region was established. In March 1955, it was renamed the Xikang Province Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. In October 1955, it became the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and was placed under the administration of Sichuan Province.

3. Geography

Garzê Prefecture is located in the western part of the West Sichuan Plateau, featuring numerous snow-capped mountains and glaciers. Major rivers such as the Jinsha River, Yalong River, and Dadu River flow through the region, endowing it with abundant hydropower, forest, and mineral resources. The terrain is predominantly part of the Hengduan Mountain system, comprising two major mountain ranges: the Shaluli Mountains and the Daxue Mountains. Within the prefecture, there are 5 mountains exceeding 6,000 meters in elevation and over 200 peaks above 5,000 meters. The mountainous area covers 120,000 square kilometers, accounting for 78.4% of the prefecture's total area. The Shaluli Mountains are situated in the western part of the prefecture, forming the watershed between the Jinsha and Yalong Rivers. Notable peaks include the 6,168-meter-high Que'er Mountain in Dêgê County and the 6,204-meter-high Genie Mountain in Litang County. The Daxue Mountains are located in the eastern part, forming the watershed between the Yalong and Dadu Rivers. The main peak, Gongga Mountain, stands at 7,556 meters, surrounded by 39 satellite peaks exceeding 6,000 meters in elevation.

The rivers within Garzê Prefecture primarily originate from the hills, valleys, and mountains of the Bayan Har Mountain region. The three major rivers are the Jinsha River, Yalong River, and Dadu River. The main stem of the Jinsha River stretches over 650 kilometers within the prefecture, with an annual runoff of approximately 17.2 billion cubic meters and a basin area of about 40,000 square kilometers. It flows through counties such as Sêrxü, Dêgê, Baiyü, Batang, and Dêrong before entering Yunnan Province. The Yalong River's main stem extends over 850 kilometers here, with an annual runoff of about 31.62 billion cubic meters and a basin area of roughly 90,000 square kilometers. It passes through Sêrxü, Garzê, Xinlong, Litang, Yajiang, Kangding, Jiulong, and other counties/cities before entering Liangshan Prefecture in Sichuan. The Dadu River flows for about 239.2 kilometers within the prefecture, with an annual runoff of approximately 15.38 billion cubic meters and a basin area of around 20,000 square kilometers. It traverses Sêrtar, Danba, Kangding, Luding, and other counties/cities before entering Ya'an in Sichuan. The prefecture also contains 2,471 natural alpine and extreme-alpine lakes and over 200 glaciers.

The climate of Garzê Prefecture is primarily classified as a Qinghai-Tibet Plateau climate, exhibiting distinct vertical zonation with altitude. Its characteristics include low temperatures, long winters, scarce precipitation, and ample sunshine. The regional economy reflects distinct geographical distribution patterns. Geographically, Garzê Prefecture lies within the subtropical climate zone in terms of latitude. However, due to intense tectonic uplift, complex topography, and its deep inland location, most areas have lost their subtropical characteristics, forming instead a continental plateau mountain monsoon climate that is complex, diverse, and exhibits significant regional variation. Spanning six degrees of latitude from south to north, the average annual temperature gradually decreases with increasing latitude, differing by over 17°C across this latitudinal range. The average annual temperature across the prefecture ranges from 0.6°C to 16.3°C. The total annual precipitation ranges from 417.8 mm to 935.8 mm.

Kangding City Meteorological Data (1981–2010, extremes to 2010)

| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year | |------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|------|------|------|------| | Record high °C (°F) | 22.2 (72.0) | 23.2 (73.8) | 30.1 (86.2) | 27.3 (81.1) | 29.4 (84.9) | 26.5 (79.7) | 28.3 (82.9) | 27.5 (81.5) | 26.4 (79.5) | 23.5 (74.3) | 20.5 (68.9) | 17.8 (64.0) | 30.1 (86.2) | | Average high °C (°F) | 3.9 (39.0) | 5.9 (42.6) | 9.8 (49.6) | 14.0 (57.2) | 16.6 (61.9) | 18.1 (64.6) | 20.4 (68.7) | 20.2 (68.4) | 16.7 (62.1) | 12.4 (54.3) | 9.0 (48.2) | 5.4 (41.7) | 12.7 (54.9) | | Daily mean °C (°F) | -1.9 (28.6) | -0.1 (31.8) | 3.5 (38.3) | 7.7 (45.9) | 11.0 (51.8) | 13.4 (56.1) | 15.7 (60.3) | 15.3 (59.5) | 12.1 (53.8) | 7.8 (46.0) | 3.5 (38.3) | -0.5 (31.1) | 7.3 (45.1) | | Average low °C (°F) | -5.6 (21.9) | -3.9 (25.0) | -0.6 (30.9) | 3.4 (38.1) | 6.9 (44.4) | 10.1 (50.2) | 12.2 (54.0) | 12.0 (53.6) | 9.2 (48.6) | 4.9 (40.8) | 0.0 (32.0) | -4.2 (24.4) | 3.7 (38.7) | | Record low °C (°F) | -13.3 (8.1) | -13.8 (7.2) | -11.2 (11.8) | -4.5 (23.9) | -1.3 (29.7) | 0.6 (33.1) | 2.7 (36.9) | 1.0 (33.8) | 0.1 (32.2) | -3.2 (26.2) | -8.3 (17.1) | -14.1 (6.6) | -14.1 (6.6) | | Average precipitation mm (inches) | 5.6 (0.22) | 12.4 (0.49) | 38.7 (1.52) | 62.7 (2.47) | 108.0 (4.25) | 172.9 (6.81) | 125.4 (4.94) | 119.2 (4.69) | 127.6 (5.02) | 63.8 (2.51) | 16.3 (0.64) | 5.8 (0.23) | 858.4 (33.79) | | Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 6.5 | 9.8 | 12.5 | 17.4 | 20.4 | 23.1 | 21.8 | 19.7 | 20.1 | 14.8 | 7.7 | 5.2 | 179.0 | | Average relative humidity (%) | 65 | 67 | 69 | 70 | 74 | 80 | 79 | 79 | 82 | 81 | 73 | 65 | 74 |

4. Administrative Divisions

Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture administers 1 county-level city and 17 counties.

• County-level City: Kangding City
• Counties: Luding County, Danba County, Jiulong County, Yajiang County, Daofu County, Luhuo County, Garzê County, Xinlong County, Dêgê County, Baiyü County, Sêrxü County, Sêrtar County, Litang County, Batang County, Xiangcheng County, Daocheng County, Dêrong County

| Division Code | Division Name Tibetan | Hanyu Pinyin Tibetan Pinyin Wylie Transliteration | Area (km²) | Resident Population (2020 Census) | Seat of Government | Postal Code | Subdistricts | Towns | Townships | of which: Ethnic Townships | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 513300 | Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture དཀར་མཛེས་བོད་རིགས་རང་སྐྱོང་ཁུལ། | Gānzī Zàngzú Zìzhìzhōu Garzê Poirig Ranggyong Kü dkar mdzes bod rigs rang skyong khul | 149,683.01 | 1,107,431 | Kangding City | 626000 | 2 | 109 | 177 | 7 | | 513301 | Kangding City དར་མདོ་གྲོང་ཁྱེར། | Kāngdìng Shì Tardo Chongkyêr dar mdo grong khyer | 11,594.45 | 126,785 | Lucheng Subdistrict | 626000 | 2 | 8 | 7 | | | 513322 | Luding County ལྕགས་ཟམ་རྫོང་། | Lúdìng Xiàn Jagsam Zong lcags zam rdzong | 2,164.54 | 84,204 | Luqiao Town | 626100 | | 7 | 2 | | | 513323 | Danba County རོང་བྲག་རྫོང་། | Dānbā Xiàn Rongzhag Zong rong brag rdzong | 4,506.47 | 49,872 | Zhanggu Town | 626300 | | 9 | 2 | | | 513324 | Jiulong County བརྒྱད་ཟིལ་རྫོང་། | Jiǔlóng Xiàn Gyaisi Zong brgyad zil rdzong | 6,761.86 | 53,738 | Ga'er Town | 626200 | | 9 | 7 | 3 | | 513325 | Yajiang County ཉག་ཆུ་རྫོང་། | Yǎjiāng Xiàn Nyagqu Zong nyag chu rdzong | 7,569.54 | 51,162 | Hekou Town | 627400 | | 6 | 10 | | | 513326 | Daofu County རྟའུ་རྫོང་། | Dàofú Xiàn Da'u Zong rta'u rdzong | 7,026.28 | 53,378 | Xianshui Town | 626400 | | 7 | 12 | | | 513327 | Luhuo County བྲག་འགོ་རྫོང་། | Lúhuò Xiàn Draggo Zong brag 'go rdzong | 4,474.88 | 47,185 | Xindu Town | 626500 | | 4 | 11 | | | 513328 | Garzê County དཀར་མཛེས་རྫོང་། | Gānzī Xiàn Garzê Zong dkar mdzes rdzong | 6,860.21 | 72,698 | Garzê Town | 626700 | | 3 | 18 | | | 513329 | Xinlong County ཉག་རོང་རྫོང་། | Xīnlóng Xiàn Nyagrong Zong nyag rong rdzong | 9,262.87 | 45,698 | Rulong Town | 626800 | | 6 | 10 | | | 513330 | Dêgê County སྡེ་དགེ་རྫོང་། | Dégé Xiàn Dêgê Zong sde dge rdzong | 11,439.57 | 88,542 | Gengqing Town | 627200 | | 10 | 13 | | | 513331 | Baiyü County དཔལ་ཡུལ་རྫོང་། | Báiyù Xiàn Baiyü Zong dpal yul rdzong | 10,258.96 | 59,524 | Jianshe Town | 627100 | | 4 | 12 | | | 513332 | Sêrxü County སེར་ཤུལ་རྫོང་། | Shíqú Xiàn Sêrxü Zong ser shul rdzong | 22,378.92 | 103,633 | Ni'ga Town | 627300 | | 7 | 14 | | | 513333 | Sêrtar County གསེར་ཐར་རྫོང་། | Sèdá Xiàn Sêrtar Zong gser thar rdzong | 8,780.95 | 64,681 | Sêke Town | 626600 | | 5 | 11 | | | 513334 | Litang County ལི་ཐང་རྫོང་། | Lǐtáng Xiàn Litang Zong li thang rdzong | 13,996.66 | 67,293 | Gaocheng Town | 627500 | | 7 | 15 | | | 513335 | Batang County འབའ་ཐང་རྫོང་། | Bātáng Xiàn Batang Zong 'ba' thang rdzong | 7,663.25 | 49,967 | Xiaqiong Town | 627600 | | 5 | 12 | | | 513336 | Xiangcheng County ཕྱག་ཕྲེང་རྫོང་། | Xiāngchéng Xiàn Qagchêng Zong phyag phreng rdzong | 4,941.04 | 31,407 | Xiangbala Town | 627800 | | 3 | 7 | | | 513337 | Daocheng County འདབ་པ་རྫོང་། | Dàochéng Xiàn Dabba Zong 'dab pa rdzong | 7,088.90 | 32,916 | Jinzhu Town | 627700 | | 5 | 8 | | | 513338 | Derong County སྡེ་རོང་རྫོང་། | Déróng Xiàn Dêrong Zong sde rong rdzong | 2,913.66 | 24,748 | Taiyangu Town | 627900 | | 4 | 6 | |

Note: The figures for Luding County include Moxi Town and Yanzi Valley Town under the jurisdiction of the Hailuogou Scenic Area.

5. Economy

In 2022, the regional gross domestic product (GDP) of the entire prefecture reached 47.194 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 3.5%. Specifically, the added value of the primary industry was 8.424 billion yuan, up by 4.2%; the added value of the secondary industry was 13.141 billion yuan, up by 6.0%; and the added value of the tertiary industry was 25.630 billion yuan, up by 2.1%. The per capita GDP reached 42,710 yuan, an increase of 3.8% compared to the previous year.

nix

nix

6. Population

According to the Seventh National Population Census in 2020, the permanent resident population of the prefecture was 1,107,431. Compared with the 1,091,872 people from the Sixth National Population Census, there was an increase of 15,559 people over the past ten years, representing a growth of 1.42%, with an average annual growth rate of 0.14%. Among them, the male population was 569,779, accounting for 51.45% of the total population; the female population was 537,652, accounting for 48.55% of the total population. The sex ratio of the total population (with females as 100) was 105.98. The population aged 0–14 was 254,580, accounting for 22.99% of the total population; the population aged 15–59 was 726,981, accounting for 65.65% of the total population; the population aged 60 and above was 125,870, accounting for 11.37% of the total population, among which the population aged 65 and above was 92,538, accounting for 8.36% of the total population. The population residing in urban areas was 343,428, accounting for 31.01% of the total population; the population residing in rural areas was 764,003, accounting for 68.99% of the total population.

6.1. Ethnic Groups

Among the permanent resident population of the prefecture, the Han population was 189,410, accounting for 17.1%; the Tibetan population was 874,552, accounting for 78.97%; and the population of other ethnic minorities was 43,469, accounting for 3.93%. Compared with the Sixth National Population Census in 2010, the Han population decreased by 9,788 people, a decline of 4.91%, and its proportion in the total population decreased by 1.14 percentage points; the population of all ethnic minorities increased by 25,347 people, a growth of 2.84%, and their proportion in the total population increased by 1.14 percentage points. Among them, the Tibetan population increased by 19,692 people, a growth of 2.3%, and its proportion in the total population increased by 0.68 percentage points.

Ethnic Composition of Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (November 2020)

| Ethnic Group | Tibetan | Han | Yi | Hui | Qiang | Bai | Naxi | Mongolian | Miao | Tujia | Other Ethnic Groups | |----------------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|----------|-----------|----------|-----------|---------------|----------|-----------|-------------------------| | Population | 874,552 | 189,410 | 34,406 | 2,652 | 2,440 | 1,028 | 675 | 488 | 431 | 337 | 1,012 | | Percentage of Total Population (%) | 78.97 | 17.10 | 3.11 | 0.24 | 0.22 | 0.09 | 0.06 | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.03 | 0.09 | | Percentage of Ethnic Minority Population (%) | 95.26 | - | 3.75 | 0.29 | 0.27 | 0.11 | 0.07 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.04 | 0.11 |

nix

nix

nix

nix

nix

nix

nix

Kangding City

Kangding City

nix

nix

nix