Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (, , retranscribed into Tibetan as ), also transliterated as Yüxü or Yulshul, is an
autonomous prefecture of Southwestern
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. Largely inhabited by
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 prefecture has an area of and its seat is located in the town of
Gyêgu
Gyêgu Subdistrict, formerly a part of the Gyêgu town is a township-level division in Yushu, Yushu TAP, Qinghai, China. The name Gyêgu is still a common name for the Yushu city proper, which include Gyêgu subdistrict and three other subdist ...
in
Yushu County
Yushu (Yüxü) is a county-level city of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Southern Qinghai Province, China. It comprises a surface area of . In 2010, the overall city's population was 120,447 and 56,802 live within the city core. There are ...
, which is the place of the old Tibetan trade mart of Jyekundo. The official source of the
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...
lies within the prefecture. Historically, the area belongs to the cultural realm of
Kham in Eastern
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...
.
On 14 April 2010, an
earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...
struck the prefecture, registering a
magnitude
Magnitude may refer to:
Mathematics
*Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction
*Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object
*Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector
*Order of ...
of 6.9
(
USGS
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...
,
EMSC) or 7.1
[About 400 dead, 10,000 injured in 7.1-magnitude quake in China's Qinghai](_blank)
xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 14 April 2010. (
Xinhua
Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua ...
). It originated in the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, at local time.
[
]
History and traditional culture
Monasticism
![YushuGon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/YushuGon.jpg)
Yushu prefecture is rich in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries. Being a constituent of the former
Nangchen kingdom, the area was, for most of the time, not under domination by the
Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...
’s
Gelugpa
240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodhgaya (India).
The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous")Kay, David N. (2007). ''Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantati ...
order in
Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China. The inner urban area of Lhas ...
. The different balance of power in this part of Kham enabled the older Tibetan Buddhist orders to prevail in Yushu. Of the 195 pre-1958 lamaseries only 23 belonged to the Gelugpa.
An overwhelming majority of more than 100 monasteries followed and still follow the teachings of the various
Kagyupa
The ''Kagyu'' school, also transliterated as ''Kagyü'', or ''Kagyud'' (), which translates to "Oral Lineage" or "Whispered Transmission" school, is one of the main schools (''chos lugs'') of Tibetan (or Himalayan) Buddhism. The Kagyu lineag ...
schools, with some of their sub-sects only found in this part of Tibet. The
Sakyapa
The ''Sakya'' (, 'pale earth') school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug. It is one of the Red Hat Orders along with the Nyingma and Kagyu.
Origins
Virūpa, 16th century. It depict ...
were and are also strong in Yushu, with many of their 32 monasteries being among the most significant in Kham. The
Nyingmapa’s monastic institutions amount to about the same number, while the
Bönpo are only met with in one lamasery they share with the Nyingmapa.
Prior to collectivization in 1958, the entire monastic population of present-day Yushu TAP amounted to more than 25,000 Buddhist monks and nuns, with approximately 300
incarnate lamas among them. On the average about three to five per cent of the population were monastic, with a strikingly higher share in
Nangchen county, where monks and nuns made up between 12 and 20% of the community.
Geography
Yushu Prefecture occupies most of the southwestern third 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 ...
, with the exception of the province's extreme southwestern corner (
Tanggulashan Town), which is an
exclave of the
Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (; mn, á ¬á á ¶á ¢á °á ¢â€¯á ¶á ¢á ¨ á ®á £á ©á á £á ¯ á ²á ¥á ªá ¡á ³ á ¦á ¨á ³á ¦á °á ¦á ²á ¡á ¨â€¯á ¦ á ¥á ªá ¡á ·á ²á ¡á á ¡á ¨ á µá á °á á ¬á ¤ á µá §á ¦; bo, མཚོ་ནུབ་འ...
. Almost all of the prefecture is located in the uppermost part of the basins of three of Asia's great rivers - the
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...
, the
Yangtze
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
, and the
Mekong
The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annual ...
, although in the remote areas of the far west of the prefecture (the
Hoh Xil
Hoh Xil or Kekexili, ( Mongolian for "Blue Ridge", also Aqênganggyai for "Lord of Ten Thousand Mountains"), is an isolated region in the northeastern part of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. On July 7, 2017, the Hoh Xil in Qinghai was listed among the ...
plateau), and along its northern borders, there are some
endorheic
An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes ...
basins as well. A significant portion of the prefecture's territory is incorporated into the
Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve, intended to protect the headwaters of the three great rivers.
Most of the prefecture's population lives in its southeastern part: primarily in the valley of the upper Yangtze (whose section within the prefecture is known in Chinese as the
Tongtian River The Zhi Qu (Tibetan) or Tongtian River () is a long river in Qinghai Province, northwest China. It begins at the confluence of Tuotuo River and Dangqu River, before flowing southeast and meeting the Jinsha River near the border of Qinghai and Sichu ...
, in Tibetan as Drichu ), and some also in the valley of the Mekong (the Dzachu () River
[The source of the Mekong River, Qinghai, China. Discovery and First Descent of the Mekong Headwaters]
Masayuki Kitamura, Exploration Club of the Tokyo University of Agriculture. ''Japanese Alpine News'', Vol. 1, October 2001.). The highlands away from these two rivers, as well as the western part of the prefecture, have very little population.
Climate
With elevations above , the prefecture has a harsh climate, with long, cold winters, and short, rainy, and cool to warm summers. Specifically, in the
Köppen system, the prefecture ranges from the alpine variation of the
subarctic climate (Köppen ''Dwc''), to a full
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 o ...
(Köppen ''EH''), to a
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 sem ...
(Köppen ''BSk''). Most of the annual precipitation occurs from June to September, when on average, a majority of the days each month has some rainfall. The annual mean temperature in Yushu County, at an elevation of , is and in
Qumarlêb, in the northeast of the prefecture at elevation, . Sunshine is generous, ranging from around 2500 hours in the prefecture seat to 2780 hours in
Qumarlêb.
Subdivisions
The prefecture is subdivided into six
county-level divisions, composing 5
counties
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 ...
and 1
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 county-level administrative division of the People's Republic of China. County-level ...
:
Economy
Agricultural produce of Yushu includes trees, wheat and millet including black Highland barley.
Transportation
The eastern part of the prefecture, where most of its population lives, is served by the
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
Ext ...
and the recently constructed (opened 2009)
Yushu Batang Airport
Yushu Batang Airport () is an airport serving Yushu City in Qinghai Province, China. It is located 18 kilometers to the south of the city center, Gyêgu, at the 3,890 meters elevation about the sea level, which makes it the highest civilian airp ...
. In 2017 the
G0613 Xining–Lijiang Expressway was completed, connecting the region to
Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, formerly known as Tsolho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (; ), is an autonomous prefecture of Northeastern Qinghai Province in Western China. The prefecture has an area of and its seat is located in Gonghe C ...
and
Xining
Xining (; ), alternatively known as Sining, is the capital of Qinghai province in western China and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau.
The city was a commercial hub along the Northern Silk Road's Hexi Corridor for over 2000 years, and w ...
.
The far western part of the prefecture, which is hundreds of kilometers away from the prefecture's eastern "core", and has very little population, is crossed by
China National Highway 109
China National Highway 109 connects Beijing with Lhasa. It runs westwards from Beijing via Datong, Yinchuan and Xining to Golmud before turning southwest to Lhasa. The portion of the highway from Xining to Lhasa is known as the Qinghai-Tibet Hig ...
and the
Qinghai-Tibet Railway.
Population
Ethnic groups in Yushu, according to 2005 Yushu Statistical Yearbook:
[Yushu Zangzu Zizhizhou Tongjiju ]ushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Statistics Bureau
Ushu (in the Amarna Letters Usu) was an ancient mainland city that supplied the city of Tyre with water, supplies and burial grounds. Its name was based upon the mythical figure Usoos or Ousoüs, a descendant of Genos and Genea whose children alle ...
Yushu Tongjiju Nianjian 2005 ushu Statistical Yearbook 2005 Yushu 2006
This statistics only includes the registered population, not the floating population which is estimated at 50–60,000 for the entire prefecture.
References
; Citations
External links
Yushu: A Tibetan Town Rebuilt in Beijing's Image
{{authority control
Prefecture-level divisions of Qinghai
Tibetan autonomous prefectures
Tibetan people
Amdo