Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, often shortened to Ganzi Prefecture, is an autonomous prefecture in the western arm of

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

province, China, bordering

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...

to the south, the

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions of � ...

to the west, and Gansu to the north and northwest. The prefecture's area is . The population is approximately 880,000, with

Tibetans The Tibetan people (; ) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million. In addition to the majority living in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans liv ...

accounting for 77.8% of the total population. The capital city of Garzê is

Kangding Kangding (), also called Tachienlu and Dartsedo (; ), is a county-level city and the seat of Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province of Southwest China. Kangding is on the bank of the Dadu River and has been considered the histor ...

(Dartsedo).

History

Garzê was traditionally part of the historical region of Kham. During the period of rule by the Republic of China (1912–49), Garzê became nominally part of the province of

Xikang Xikang (also Sikang or Hsikang) was a nominal province formed by the Republic of China in 1939 on the initiative of prominent Sichuan warlord Liu Wenhui and continued by the early People's Republic of China. Thei idea was to form a single unif ...

, which included parts of former Kham. In 1930, the

Tibetan army The Tibetan Army () was the military force of Tibet after its ''de facto'' independence in 1912 until the 1950s. As a ground army modernised with the assistance of British training and equipment, it served as the ''de facto'' armed forces of th ...

invaded Garzê, capturing it without much resistance. However, in 1932, the Tibetan army withdrew after suffering defeats elsewhere at the hands of the warlord of

Qinghai Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...

Ma Bufang Ma Bufang (1903 – 31 July 1975) (, Xiao'erjing: ) was a prominent Muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the province of Qinghai. His rank was Lieutenant-general. General Ma started an industrialization pro ...

. Chinese warlord

Liu Wenhui Liu Wenhui (; 1895 – 24 June 1976) was a Chinese general and warlord of Sichuan province (Sichuan clique). At the beginning of his career, he was aligned with the Kuomintang (KMT), commanding the Sichuan-Xikang Defence Force from 1927 to 1929. ...

reoccupied Garzê, and signed an agreement with the Tibetans formalizing his control of the area east of the upper

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

, which corresponds roughly with eastern Kham (see

Sino-Tibetan War The Sino-Tibetan War (, lit. Kham–Tibet dispute) was a war that began in 1930 when the Tibetan Army under the 13th Dalai Lama responded to the attempted seizure of a monastery. Chinese-administered eastern Kham region (later called Xikang), ...

). In 1950, following the defeat of the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

forces by the People's Liberation Army, the area fell within the control of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Eastern Xikang was merged with Sichuan in 1955, where Garzê became an Autonomous Prefecture.

Population

According to the census of 2000, Garzê had a registered population of 897,239 (population density: 5.94 people/km²).

Languages

Garzê is linguistically diverse, having many variants of Tibetan as well as several

Qiangic languages Qiangic (''Ch'iang, Kyang, Tsiang'', Chinese: 羌語支, "''Qiang'' language group"; formerly known as Dzorgaic) is a group of related languages within the Sino-Tibetan language family. They are spoken mainly in Southwest China, including Sichua ...

: *

: Guiqiong, Muya *

Luding County Luding County (), also known via its Tibetan name as Chagsam or Jagsam ) is a county located in the southeast of the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province, China. Luding County covers an area of , and has a population of 86,234 ...

: Muya *

Danba County Rongzhag (), also Danba () is a county of the eastern Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in western Sichuan, Sichuan Province, China. The county seat is the town of Zhanggu (). Climate References External links

Populated place ...

rGyalrong Gyalrong or rGyalrong (), also rendered Jiarong (), or sometimes Gyarung, is a subbranch of the Gyalrongic languages spoken by the Gyalrong people in Western Sichuan, China. Lai et al. (2020) refer to this group of languages as East Gyalrongic. ...

Jiulong County Gyézil County (), also Jiulong County (); is a county located in southeastern Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province, People's Republic of China. With a population of 52 thousand, mainly Tibetans, Hans, and Yis, it contains one ...

: Pumi (Southern) *

Yajiang County Nyagqu or Nyachukha County (, Nyagchukha, Nyagquka) or Yajiang County (), named after Nyagchukha in Tibetan, is a county of the traditional Kham Region of eastern Tibet. It is currently under the administration of the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Pre ...

: Zhaba * Dawu County: Horpa *

Xinlong County Xinlong County (; ) is a county in the west of Sichuan Province, China. It is under the administration of the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Xinlong County is part of historical region of Nyarong. Jazi (Nyarong Jazi Gon; Jazi Gon Sangngak ...

: Queyu

Religion

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

is historically the predominant religion practiced in Garzê. Some notable

Gompa A Gompa or Gönpa ( "remote place", Sanskrit ''araṇya''), also known as ling (), is a Buddhist ecclesiastical fortification of learning, lineage and sādhanā that may be understood as a conflation of a fortification, a vihara and a universit ...

s here include: *

Dzogchen Monastery Dzogchen Monastery (Tib. རྫོགས་ཆེན་དགོན། ''rdzogs chen dgon'') is one of the "Six Mother Monasteries" of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It is located in Kham within modern day Dêgê County, Garzê Tib ...

Dzongsar Monastery Dzongsar Monastery ( bo, རྫོང་གསར་དགོན།) is a Buddhist monastery in Dêgê County in the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan, China, southeast of the town of Derge and east of Palpung Monastery. Historical ...

Kandze Monastery Kandze Monastery (also Ganzi or Garze Monastery or Gompa) is situated 2 km north of Garzê Town on a hilltop overlooking the town, in Tibet. History The monastery was built ''c''. 1642 CE by the Khoshut or Qosot Mongols overlooking their castles ...

* Kharnang Monastery * Nanwu Si Monastery *

Palpung Monastery Palpung Monastery () is the name of the congregation of monasteries and centers of the Tai Situpa lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism as well as the name of the Tai Situ's monastic seat in Babang, Kham (modern Sichuan). Palpung mean ...

* Sershul Monastery * Tongkor Monastery *

Larung Gar Larung Gar (, , ''luoruoxiang'') in the Larung Valley is a community in Sêrtar County of Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in Sichuan, China, known as Kham. Larung Gar is the local name for the community of mostly Tibetan and Han Chinese ...

Buddhist Institute *

Yarchen Gar Yarchen Gar (), officially known as "Yaqên Orgyän Temple" (), is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Nyingma school, with an educational institute and residential community in western Sichuan, China. The majority of its Tibetan and Chinese resid ...

Buddhist Institute

Subdivisions

Garzê comprises 1 county-level city and 17 counties:

Notes

External links

Official website of Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
* Travel information on Garzê TAP towns and villages
along the Northern and Southern Sichuan-Tibet HighwaysTagong
(in between both highways)
Daocheng
an
Yading
(south of both highways)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Tibetan autonomous prefectures Prefecture-level divisions of Sichuan