Gertse County (), Gêrzê County or Gaize County () is a county located in

Ngari Prefecture Ngari Prefecture () or Ali Prefecture () is a prefecture of China's Tibet Autonomous Region covering Western Tibet, whose traditional name is Ngari Khorsum. Its administrative centre and largest settlement is the town of Shiquanhe. History Ngar ...

in the northwest of the

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a Provinces of China, province-level Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China in Southwest China. I ...

, bordering

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

to the north.

Name

Gêrzê is the

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

word for a special type of local-style dwelling built on the peak of a mountain.

History

The area was originally inhabited by nomadic tribes. In the aftermath of the

Annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China Tibet came under the control of People's Republic of China (PRC) after the Government of Tibet signed the Seventeen Point Agreement which the 14th Dalai Lama ratified on 24 October 1951, but later repudiated on the grounds that he rendered his ...

in the early 1950s,

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

troops were stationed in Gêrzê. On May 3, 1960, the Gêrzê County Committee of the

Communist Party of China The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

was established. On October 1, 1960, the Gêrzê County government was established. At 2:01 AM on February 21, 2020, a 5.0 magnitude earthquake struck in Gêrzê County (epicenter: ). At 2:12 AM on March 10, 2020, a 5.0 magnitude earthquake struck in Gêrzê County (epicenter: ) followed by a 3.7 magnitude and a 3.4 magnitude

aftershock In seismology, an aftershock is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake, in the same area of the main shock, caused as the displaced crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. Large earthquakes can have hundreds to thousand ...

. No casualties were reported. On May 8, 2020, eight suspects were arrested and eighty-nine antelope skins were confiscated in connection with reported

Tibetan antelope The Tibetan antelope or chiru (''Pantholops hodgsonii'') (, pronounced ; ) is a medium-sized bovid native to the northeastern Tibetan plateau. Most of the population live within the Chinese border, while some scatter across India and Bhutan in ...

poaching in the county.

Geography

Gêrzê County is bordered to the north by

Keriya County Yutian County ( zh, s= ), also transliterated from Uyghur as Keriya County ( ug, كېرىيە ناھىيىسى; zh, s= ), is a county in Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. It is based at the Keriya Town, and is separate ...

(Yutian) in

Hotan Prefecture Hotan PrefectureThe official spelling is "Hotan" according to (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is located in the Tarim Basin region of southwestern Xinjiang, China, bordering the Tibet Autonomous Region ...

(Hetian), Xinjiang and to the west by

Rutog County Rutog County (), (in ) is a county in Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. The county seat is the new Rutog Town, located some or 700 miles west-northwest of the Tibetan capital, Lhasa. Rutog County sh ...

. There are numerous lakes in Gêrzê County including Tong Tso.

Thermal spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

s in Gêrzê County include Lugu (70 °C; ; altitude ), Nagezhong (60 °C; ; altitude ) and Yarlhaingari (60 °C; ; altitude ).

Climate

Gêrzê County has a

cold semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

: ''BSk''), with strong dry-winter

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

tendencies (Köppen: ''Dwc'').

Administrative divisions

The only town is Gêrzê Town (Gaize; , ) Townships * Chabug Township (Chabu; , ), Dongco Township (Dongcuo; , ), Gomo Township (Gumu; , ), Marmê Township (Mami; , ), Oma Township (Wuma; , ) and Shenchen Township (Xianqian; , ).

Demographics

, the residents of the county were

. In 1999, the population of the county was 16,623.

Economy

The main economic activity in Gêrzê County is animal husbandry which includes the raising of

yak The domestic yak (''Bos grunniens''), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox or hairy cattle, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau, Kachin Sta ...

, dzo, sheep, goats, and horses. The county also has wild yak, wild donkeys, wild sheep, bears and

Transportation

*Hei'agong Road ()

Historical maps

Historical maps including Gêrzê: File:China West 1906-08 Sven Hedin.jpg, Map of the expeditions of

Sven Hedin Sven Anders Hedin, KNO1kl RVO,Wennerholm, Eric (1978) ''Sven Hedin – En biografi'', Bonniers, Stockholm (19 February 1865 – 26 November 1952) was a Swedish geographer, topographer, explorer, photographer, travel writer and illustrator ...

(1906-8) including the modern-day Gêrzê County area ( RGS, early 20th century) File:Txu-oclc-6654394-ni-45-4th-ed.jpg, Map including Gêrzê (labeled as Kai-tse) ( DMA, 1975) File:Operational Navigation Chart G-7, 6th edition.jpg, Map including Gêrzê (Kai-tse) ( DMA, 1980) File:Txu-pclmaps-oclc-22834566 g-7c.jpg, Map of the Gêrzê area ( DMA, 1990)

References

Counties of Tibet Ngari Prefecture {{Ngari-geo-stub