Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, often shortened to Ganzi Prefecture, is an

autonomous prefecture Autonomous prefectures () are one type of autonomous administrative divisions of China, existing at the prefectural level, with either ethnic minorities forming over 50% of the population or being the historic home of significant minorities. ...

in the western arm of

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of t ...

province, China, bordering

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...

to the south, the

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions ...

to the west, and

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 Tibe ...

to the north and northwest. The prefecture's area is . The population is approximately 880,000, with

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 ...

accounting for 77.8% of the total population. The capital city of Garzê is Kangding (Dartsedo).

History

Garzê was traditionally part of the historical region of

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 ...

. During the period of rule by the

Republic of China (1912–49) Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northea ...

, Garzê became nominally part of the province of

Xikang Xikang (also Sikang or Hsikang) was a nominal province formed by the Republic of China in 1939 on the initiative of prominent Sichuan warlord Liu Wenhui and continued by the early People's Republic of China. Thei idea was to form a single unif ...

, which included parts of former Kham. In 1930, the Tibetan army invaded Garzê, capturing it without much resistance. However, in 1932, the Tibetan army withdrew after suffering defeats elsewhere at the hands of the warlord 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 ...

Ma Bufang Ma Bufang (1903 – 31 July 1975) (, Xiao'erjing: ) was a prominent Muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the province of Qinghai. His rank was Lieutenant-general. General Ma started an industrialization pro ...

. Chinese warlord Liu Wenhui reoccupied Garzê, and signed an agreement with the Tibetans formalizing his control of the area east of the upper

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 ...

, which corresponds roughly with eastern Kham (see Sino-Tibetan War). In 1950, following the defeat of the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...

forces by the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the China, People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five Military branch, service branches: the People's ...

, the area fell within the control of 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 List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. Eastern Xikang was merged with Sichuan in 1955, where Garzê became an Autonomous Prefecture.

Population

According to the census of 2000, Garzê had a registered population of 897,239 (population density: 5.94 people/km²).

Languages

Garzê is linguistically diverse, having many variants of Tibetan as well as several

Qiangic languages Qiangic (''Ch'iang, Kyang, Tsiang'', Chinese: 羌語支, "''Qiang'' language group"; formerly known as Dzorgaic) is a group of related languages within the Sino-Tibetan language family. They are spoken mainly in Southwest China, including Sich ...

: * Kangding: Guiqiong, Muya *

Luding County Luding County (), also known via its Tibetan name as Chagsam or Jagsam ) is a county located in the southeast of the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province, China. Luding County covers an area of , and has a population of 86,23 ...

: Muya * Danba County: rGyalrong * Jiulong County: Pumi (Southern) * Yajiang County: Zhaba * Dawu County: Horpa * Xinlong County: Queyu

Religion

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

is historically the predominant religion practiced in Garzê. Some notable

Gompa A Gompa or Gönpa ( "remote place", Sanskrit ''araṇya''), also known as ling (), is a Buddhist ecclesiastical fortification of learning, lineage and sādhanā that may be understood as a conflation of a fortification, a vihara and a universit ...

s here include: * Dzogchen Monastery *

Dzongsar Monastery Dzongsar Monastery ( bo, རྫོང་གསར་དགོན།) is a Buddhist monastery in Dêgê County in the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan, China, southeast of the town of Derge and east of Palpung Monastery. Historical ...

Kandze Monastery Kandze Monastery (also Ganzi or Garze Monastery or Gompa) is situated 2 km north of Garzê Town on a hilltop overlooking the town, in Tibet. History The monastery was built ''c''. 1642 CE by the Khoshut or Qosot Mongols overlooking their castles ...

* Kharnang Monastery * Nanwu Si Monastery *

Palpung Monastery Palpung Monastery () is the name of the congregation of monasteries and centers of the Tai Situpa lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism as well as the name of the Tai Situ's monastic seat in Babang, Kham (modern Sichuan). Palpung mean ...

* Sershul Monastery * Tongkor Monastery * Larung Gar Buddhist Institute * Yarchen Gar Buddhist Institute

Subdivisions

Garzê comprises 1 county-level city and 17 counties:

Notes

External links

Official website of Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
* Travel information on Garzê TAP towns and villages
along the Northern and Southern Sichuan-Tibet HighwaysTagong
(in between both highways)
Daocheng
an
Yading
(south of both highways)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Tibetan autonomous prefectures Prefecture-level divisions of Sichuan