Ruoergai County or Zoigê County (; ) is a
county of
Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in
Sichuan, China, bordering
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 ...
to the north. It is the northernmost county of the province. It is part of the Tibetan traditional region of
Amdo.
It has an area of and a population of , 90.4% of which are
Tibetan people.
Geography
Ruoergai County is found in the easternmost sections of the
Tibetan Plateau. The county is primarily a highland basin made up of the
Ruoergai Marsh
Ruoergai County or Zoigê County (; ) is a County (People's Republic of China), county of Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan, China, bordering Gansu to the north. It is the northernmost county of the province. It is part of th ...
between the
Min Mountains and
Amne Machin
Amne Machin, Anyi Machen, or Anyê Maqên ("Grandfather Pomra") is the highest peak of a mountain range of the same name in the southeast of Qinghai province, China. It is revered in Tibetan Buddhism as the home of the chief indigenous deity of ...
. The western border of the county, shared with
Maqu County
Maqu County (; ) is a county of the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the south of Gansu province of the People's Republic of China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the east and southeast, and Qinghai to the southwest, west and northwes ...
in Gansu, is formed by the first major bend of the
Yellow River where it changes course nearly 180 degrees and heads back towards
Qinghai.
Climate
Ruoergai 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''), featuring very cold nights even in summertime, and very cold winters with extreme
diurnal temperature range
In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day.
Temperature lag
Temperature lag is an important factor in diurnal temperature variation: peak d ...
s. Snow can fall any time of the year and usually does not melt until summer due to repeated nightly freezing even when maxima are above . Therefore, access to Ruoergai is heavily restricted during the winter months from late October to early May. Sitting at an altitude of more than 11,000 feet, high-altitude sickness is another common problem for tourists.
Transport
*
China National Highway 213
Administrative divisions
Ruoergai County has four
towns
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 ...
and 13
townships:
*Town:
**Dazhasi ()
**Tangke ()
**Xiaman ()
**Hongxing ()
*Townships:
**Banyou ()
**Axi ()
**
Maixi ()
**Nenwa ()
**Donglie ()
**Chong'er ()
**Re'er ()
**Zhanwa ()
**Jiangzha ()
**Baxi ()
**Axirong ()
**Qiuji ()
**Baozuo ()
References
"China Ruoergai" - County Government site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruoergai County
County-level divisions of Sichuan
Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture