Xiahe (; ) is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,

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 ...

province, 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 ...

, bordering

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 west. It is home to the famed

Labrang Labrang Monastery (; Chinese: Lāboléng Sì, 拉卜楞寺) is one of the six great monasteries of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Its formal name is ''Genden Shédrup Dargyé Trashi Gyésu khyilwé Ling'' (). Labrang is located in Xiah ...

Tibetan Buddhist

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

, one of the largest Tibetan Buddhist monasteries outside 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 ...

. The town is populated largely by ethnic

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 live ...

, as well as some

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 ...

and

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 ...

. The area is highly rural and pastoral (including

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 ...

and other animal rearing). The geography is mountainous. In recent years it has become a tourist attraction. The county was named Xiahe in 1928, after the

Daxia River The Daxia River () is a tributary of the Yellow River in southern Gansu Province in China's west. The Daxia River starts in eastern Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai, then flows easterly through northern Gannan Tibetan Autonomous ...

that flows through its territory. Xiahe school

History

Xiahe (Sangqu) used to be part of

when it was under the control of

Chinese Muslim Islam has been practiced in China since the 7th century CE.. Muslims are a minority group in China, representing 1.6-2 percent of the total population (21,667,000- 28,210,795) according to various estimates. Though Hui Muslims are the most numerou ...

General Ma Qi. It was the site of bloody battles between Muslim and Tibetan forces.

Location

Xiahe (Sangqu) is found in the southern portion of Gansu province, along the western border with

province. It lies along the

Daxia Daxia, Ta-Hsia, or Ta-Hia (; literally: 'Great Xia') was apparently the name given in antiquity by the Han Chinese to Tukhara or Tokhara: the main part of Bactria, in what is now northern Afghanistan, and parts of southern Tajikistan and Uzbek ...

and

Zhao river Zhao may refer to: * Zhao (surname) (赵), a Chinese surname ** commonly spelled Chao in Taiwan or up until the early 20th century in other regions ** Chiu, from the Cantonese pronunciation ** Cho (Korean surname), represent the Hanja 趙 (Chinese ...

s. It is on the northeast edge of the

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 ...

. The average elevation is with the highest being and the lowest .

Climate

Xiahe County has an alpine

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 ...

( Köppen ''Dwc'') that grades into an

alpine climate Alpine climate is the typical weather (climate) for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate. Definition There are multiple definitions of ...

(''ETH'') at the highest elevations. The climate is characterised by mild, rainy summers and frigid, but dry and sunny, winters.

Name

The name (both Chinese and Tibetan), which literally means "Xia River", refers to the

which runs through the county.

Administrative divisions

Towns: * Labuleng / Labrang (), Wangge'ertang (), Amuquhu (), Sangke (), Ganjia (), Madang (),

Bola Bola may refer to: People * Bola (name), a surname and given name * Darrell Fitton, electronic musician from Manchester, England, AKA "Bola" and "Jello" Geography * Bola (volcano), a volcano on the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea * Bo ...

(), Kecai () Townships: * Damai (), Qu'ao (), Tanggai'ang (), Zhayou (), Jicang () Other areas: *Xiahe County Seed Station (), Xiahe County Jisi General Station (), Xiahe County Sangke Sheep Farm ()

References

External links

People's Government of Xiahe Official Website
Chinese version
People's Government of Xiahe Official Website
English version

- A site with numerous pictures of Xiahe.

County-level divisions of Gansu Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture {{Gansu-geo-stub