Mangnai also known as Mang'ai or Mangya () is a

county-level city A county-level municipality (), county-level city or county city, formerly known as prefecture-controlled city (1949–1970: ; 1970–1983: ), is a Administrative divisions of China#County level (3rd), county-level administrative divi ...

in the northwest of

Qinghai Province 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 pop ...

, China, 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 and west. It is under the administration of

Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (; mn, ᠬᠠᠶᠢᠰᠢ ᠶᠢᠨ ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ ᠲᠥᠪᠡᠳ ᠦᠨᠳᠦᠰᠦᠲᠡᠨ ᠦ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠭᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠤ ᠵᠧᠦ; bo, མཚོ་ནུབ་� ...

. It is one of the most remote cities in China, the closest other city, Ruoqiang, is located away. In 2018 it had a population of 63,000. The name Mangnai is based on the Mongolian word for 'forehead'. It was formed in 2018 when the Mangnai and

Lenghu Lenghu () is a town in Mangnai, Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It is located in the northwest of Qinghai province, China, bordering Gansu to the north/northeast and Xinjiang to the northwest. History In 2018, the Mangnai and Len ...

administrative zones merged to establish the county-level city of Mangnai.

Economy

Mangnai had a large

asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...

mine, it was the largest in China, it also holds around half of China's serpentine reserves. It also produces oil, natural gas, celestite, and

sodium sulfate Sodium sulfate (also known as sodium sulphate or sulfate of soda) is the inorganic compound with formula Na2SO4 as well as several related hydrates. All forms are white solids that are highly soluble in water. With an annual production of 6 milli ...

Administrative divisions

Mangnai's administrative center is the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Huatugou Huatugou or Huatugouzhen (literally: Huatugou Town) is a town in Mangnai, Haixi, Qinghai, China. Huatugou Airport Huatugou Airport () is an airport in Mangnai, a county-level city of Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai P ...

. Towns *

Demographics

17 different

ethnic groups An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

live in the city, including the

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...

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 ...

, the

Hui The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...

, Salars, Monguors,

Manchus The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and Q ...

, Dongxiangs, and

Uighurs The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghu ...

Climate

Tourism

The main touristic sites in Mangnai are: * Emerald Lake () * Qianfo cliffs () * Gasi Lake () * Yingxiongling

Danxia Landform The Danxia landform () refers to various landscapes found in southeast, southwest and northwest China that "consist of a red bed characterized by steep cliffs". It is a unique type of petrographic geomorphology found in China. Danxia landform ...

() * Alar Wetland () * Yardang landform () In 2019, a camp meant to simulate conditions on the planet

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

opened in the

, which is primarily geared towards tourists.

Transport

Mangnai is located strategically on one of the main transport corridors between

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 ...

and

. The

Huatugou Airport Huatugou Airport () is an airport in Mangnai, a county-level city of Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province, China. The airport is located near the town of Huatugou, at an altitude of above sea level. Construction ...

serves Mangnai and the city is served by the

Golmud–Korla railway Geku railway () is a railway connecting Golmud and Korla, in western China. Construction started in November 2014 and was completed in 2020. The length of the line is , joining Qinghai province and Xinjiang province. The investment is estimated ...

and is located along China National Highway 315.

Notelist

References

County-level divisions of Qinghai Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Cities in Qinghai {{Qinghai-geo-stub