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

autonomous prefecture Autonomous prefectures ( zh, c=自治州, p=zìzhìzhōu) are one type of autonomous administrative divisions of China, autonomous administrative division in China, existing at the Prefecture-level divisions of China, prefectural level, with eith ...

in the western arm of

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

province,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

bordering

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

to the south, the

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), often shortened to Tibet in English or Xizang in Pinyin, Hanyu Pinyin, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China. It was established in 1965 to replace the ...

to the west, and

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

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

Tibetans Tibetans () are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 7.7 million. In addition to the majority living in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans live in t ...

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 Tibet, Tibetan regions, the others being Domey also known as Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The official name of this Tibetan region/province is Dotoe (). The original residents of ...

. 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. The main island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of Chi ...

, Garzê became nominally part of the province of

Xikang Xikang (formerly romanized as Sikang or Hsikang, or 'Kham to the west f Sichuan) was a nominal province formed by the Republic of China (1912–1949)">Republic of China in 1939 on the initiative of prominent Sichuan warlord Liu Wenhui and re ...

, which included parts of former Kham. In 1930, the

Tibetan army The Tibetan Army () was the armed forces of Tibet (1912–1951), Tibet from 1913 to 1959. It was established by the 13th Dalai Lama shortly after he proclaimed the independence of Tibet in 1912, and was modernised with the assistance of Britis ...

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 is an inland Provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. It is the largest provinces of China, province of China (excluding autonomous regions) by area and has the third smallest population. Its capital and largest city is Xin ...

Ma Bufang Ma Bufang (1903 – 31 July 1975) (, Xiao'erjing: ) was a prominent Chinese Muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republican era, ruling the province of Qinghai. His rank was lieutenant-general. Life Ma Bufang and his older brother ...

. Chinese warlord

Liu Wenhui Liu Wenhui (; 10 January 1895 – 24 June 1976) was a Chinese general and warlord of Sichuan province ( Sichuan clique). At the beginning of his career, he was aligned with the Kuomintang (KMT), commanding the Sichuan-Xikang Defence Force from 1 ...

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 Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

, which corresponds roughly with eastern Kham (see

Sino-Tibetan War Sino-Tibetan (also referred to as Trans-Himalayan) is a family of more than 400 languages, second only to Indo-European in number of native speakers. Around 1.4 billion people speak a Sino-Tibetan language. The vast majority of these are the 1.3 ...

). In 1950, following the defeat of the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

forces by the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, 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. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

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

: * Kangding: Guiqiong, Muya *

Luding County Luding County ( zh, s=泸定县 , t=瀘定縣 , p=Lúdìng Xiàn), 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 ...

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

Religion

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...

is historically the predominant religion practiced in Garzê. Some notable Gompas here include: * Dzogchen Monastery * Dzongsar Monastery * Kandze Monastery * Kharnang Monastery * Nanwu Si Monastery * Palpung Monastery * Sershul Monastery * Tongkor Monastery * Larung Gar Buddhist Institute * Yarchen Gar Buddhist Institute

Subdivisions

Garzê comprises 1 county-level city and 17 counties:

Notes

References

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