Riwoche (; ) is a county under the administration of the

prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. During the Republican era, many of China' ...

Chamdo Chamdo, officially Qamdo () and also known in Chinese as Changdu, is a prefecture-level city in the eastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Its seat is the town of Chengguan in Karuo District. Chamdo is Tibet's third largest city ...

in 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 ...

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 ...

. The county lies in eastern Tibet and borders

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 to the north. Riwoche is the name of the county, the county capital, and the small village where the main monastery is located. Riwoche sits at around above sea level. The Dzi River flows through the region. The county grows barley and wheat.

Kham Kham (; ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The original residents of Kham are called Khampas (), and were governed locally by chieftains and monasteries. Kham ...

pa inhabitants of the area lives in houses made of wood. The area is highly mountainous, and in contrast to the high altitude grasslands predominant in

Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the Ti ...

, Riwoche is lush all year round with evergreen forests. Riwoche's climate is mild by Tibetan standards, with daytime high temperatures generally above in winter and in summer.

Climate

Attractions

Yiri Hot Spring is located at Riwoqê County, surrounded by the hills, is a famous hot spring which is reputed to cure diseases. Riwoche is also home to the famous

Riwoche Monastery Riwoche Monastery, or Riwoche Tsukla Khang Tragyelma (Tib. ''ri-bo-che'';Dorje and Kapstein (1991), p. 475. Ch. ''Leiwuqi Si'') is a Taklung Kagyu monastery of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. It was founded in 1276 by Sangye On, and is one ...

, the main set of the

Taklung Kagyu The Taklung Kagyu () is a sub-school of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. History The Taklung Kagyu lineage was founded by Taklung Thangpa Tashi Pal in 1180 CE. Like the other Sarma schools, it is part of the second founding of Buddhism in T ...

, situated 29 km north of the Riwoche Town, and 134 km west of

. Jiumichan Monastery is within Riwoqê County, 105 km away from the county seat, is a national key scenic spot. Naitang Monastery is located at Riwoqê County, with Dingxia Mountain on the back, Naishui River in the front, and Duoji Cliff on the north. Buddhists thought it as the holy land of Ruchi 16 Arhats, called it Naitang Monastery.

Riwoche horses

Riwoche is also known for a unique horse breed called

Riwoche horse The Riwoche horse is a dun-colored, pony-sized horse indigenous to northeastern Tibet. It came to international attention in 1995, at which time its primitive appearance and small size led to speculation that it might be an evolutionary link ...

s, thought to be the missing link between modern horses and

prehistoric horse The evolution of the horse, a mammal of the family Equidae, occurred over a geologic time scale of 50 million years, transforming the small, dog-sized, forest-dwelling ''Eohippus'' into the modern horse. Paleozoologists have been able to piece ...

s after ground-breaking research in 1995.

Transportation

China National Highway 214 China National Highway 214 (G214) runs from Xining, Qinghai to Jinghong, Yunnan. It is 3,256 kilometres in length and runs south from Xining towards Tibet, and ends in Yunnan Province. Route and distance See also * China National Highways ...

China National Highway 317 China National Highway 317 (G317) runs broadly west to east from Chengdu, Sichuan to Gar County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. It is 2,028 kilometres in length and forms an important transportation route in Tibet. As of 2017, Highway 317 passes through ...

References

Counties of Tibet Chamdo Kham {{Qamdo-geo-stub