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 ...
province, People's Republic of China. It is located in the southeast of
Minhe County
Minhe Hui and Tu Autonomous County (; Xiao'erjing: ) is the easternmost county in Qinghai Province, China. It is under the administration of Haidong (lit. Eastern Qinghai) Region. "Hui" refers to the Chinese Muslims, whereas "Tu" refers to the e ...
and, together with Guanting, Zhongchuan, Xiakou, Gangou and Xin'er townships, is referred to as the Guanting Area ().
It is the home to the most densely populated
Tu Zu
The Monguor (; Tu: Mongghul), the Tu people (), the White Mongol or the Tsagaan Mongol, are Mongolic people and one of the 56 officially recognized ethnic groups in China. The "Tu" ethnic category was created in the 1950s.
According to the 20 ...
settlement in China, who refer to the area as "Sanchuan" ().
Toponymy
The official Chinese name for the area is Guanting (). Local legends accounted that the name came from the famous general,
Guan Yu
Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on ...
(), who stopped by in the area on his way to look for his sworn brother,
Liu Bei
Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the H ...
, the founder of the
Shu Han
Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu (; pinyin: ''shŭ'' <
Cao Cao
Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate Grand chancellor (China), grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the End of ...
China proper
China proper, Inner China, or the Eighteen Provinces is a term used by some Western writers in reference to the "core" regions of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China. This term is used to express a distinction between the "core" regions popu ...
. The Chinese name "Guan" in Guanting came from the last name of Guan Yu, whereas "Ting" came from the Chinese character for "stop" () or "pavilion" ().
The informal reference by the local residents of the
Tu Zu
The Monguor (; Tu: Mongghul), the Tu people (), the White Mongol or the Tsagaan Mongol, are Mongolic people and one of the 56 officially recognized ethnic groups in China. The "Tu" ethnic category was created in the 1950s.
According to the 20 ...
is "
Sanchuan
Guanting () is a town in eastern Qinghai province, People's Republic of China. It is located in the southeast of Minhe County and, together with Guanting, Zhongchuan, Xiakou, Gangou and Xin'er townships, is referred to as the Guanting Area ().
It ...
" (), which literally means “Three Plains” and applies to the Upper, Middle, and Lower plains according to the geographic features marked by two seasonable rivers that flow from the north to the south into the
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...
and divides the area. The Upper Plain, or Shangchuan, refers to the Zhaomuchuan Village of Guanting Township. The Middle Plain, or Zhongchuan, encloses Zhongchuan Township, which is separated from the Upper Plain by the Zhaomuchuan River. The Lower Plain refers to the Xiakou Township on the exit of the
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...
that flows out 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 ...
into
Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
.
History
The town is home to the archeological site of
Lajia
Lajia () is a Bronze Age archaeological site in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, on the border between the Chinese provinces of Gansu and Qinghai. As at other sites of the Qijia culture (c. 2300–1500 BCE), the people of Lajia had an agric ...
, located in Lajia Village, which belong to the
Qijia Culture
The Qijia culture (2200 BC – 1600 BC) was an early Bronze Age culture distributed around the upper Yellow River region of Gansu (centered in Lanzhou) and eastern Qinghai, China. It is regarded as one of the earliest bronze cultures in China.
T ...
, as well as the
Majiayao Culture
The Majiayao culture was a group of neolithic communities who lived primarily in the upper Yellow River region in eastern Gansu, eastern Qinghai and northern Sichuan, China. The culture existed from 3300 to 2000 BC. The Majiayao culture represen ...
and the
Xindian Culture
Xindian culture () was a Bronze Age culture in the Gansu and Qinghai provinces of China. Xindian culture is dated ca. 1500–1000 BCE, a radiocarbon testing of an artefact produced a date around 1000 BCE,''Cihai'' ("Sea of Words"), Shanghai c ...
. The site's artefacts date back to approximately 2000 BCE, and contain pottery, stone tools, bone tools, jade, a moat, human houses, and human skeletons.
Up until recently, the area has very much existed as an independent kingdom, where everyone spoke their native
Monguor language
The Monguor language (; also written Mongour and Mongor) is a Mongolic language of its Shirongolic branch and is part of the Gansu–Qinghai sprachbund (also called the Amdo sprachbund). There are several dialects, mostly spoken by the Monguor peo ...
and which enabled the preservation of their culture, characterized by
Nadun
Nadun is a traditional festival held by the Monguor people (known as the ''Tu Zu'' in Chinese). The festival's name resembles the Nadam festival of the Mongols, but different in format and content.
Origins
The Monguor “Nadun” and the Mongoli ...
, elaborate wedding and funeral ceremonies, and rich religious lives.
Archaeological discoveries and historical research hypothesized that the area is the homeland of the legendary Emperor Yü the Great, who established the
Xia Dynasty
The Xia dynasty () is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, the Xia dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great, after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors, gave the throne to him. In tradi ...
(2070 B.C.-1600 B.C.), the first ever recorded dynasty in the ancient Chinese history.
Administrative divisions
Guanting is divided into 1
residential community
A residential community is a community, usually a small town or city, that is composed mostly of residents, as opposed to commercial businesses and/or industrial facilities, all three of which are considered to be the three main types of occup ...
and 13 administrative villages.
* Guantingzhen Community ()
* Guanzhong Village ()
* Guanghui Village ()
* Wushi Village ()
* Xianfeng Village ()
* Qianjin Village ()
* Heyan Village ()
* Zhaomuchuan Village ()
* Zhaizi Village ()
* Baojia Village ()
* Lajia Village ()
* Guanxi Village ()
* Guandong Village ()
* Bieluo Village ()
Demographics
The area is the homeland of the most densely populated
Tu Zu
The Monguor (; Tu: Mongghul), the Tu people (), the White Mongol or the Tsagaan Mongol, are Mongolic people and one of the 56 officially recognized ethnic groups in China. The "Tu" ethnic category was created in the 1950s.
According to the 20 ...
settlement, who are known as “
Monguor Mongour, formerly also known by various names including Tu and Dchiahour, may refer to:
* Monguor people
* Monguor language
The Monguor language (; also written Mongour and Mongor) is a Mongolic language of its Shirongolic branch and is part of ...
” in the West and as “
Tu Zu
The Monguor (; Tu: Mongghul), the Tu people (), the White Mongol or the Tsagaan Mongol, are Mongolic people and one of the 56 officially recognized ethnic groups in China. The "Tu" ethnic category was created in the 1950s.
According to the 20 ...
” in China. About three hundred of their villages are densely distributed on the north bank of the
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...
, which have been administered into about one hundred executive political villages by the
Chinese Government
The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, mili ...
.
Language
The village is home to a unique dialect of the Monguor language.