Zoigê County or Ruo'ergai County (; zh, s=若尔盖县 , p=Ruò'ěrgài Xiàn) is a
county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
of
Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture
Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, also known as Aba (; Qiang language, Qiang: ; zh, s=阿坝藏族羌族自治州, t=阿壩藏族羌族自治州), is an autonomous prefecture of northwestern Sichuan, bordering Gansu to the north and ...
in
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 ...
, China, bordering
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. It is the northernmost county of the province. It is part of the Tibetan traditional region of
Amdo
Amdo ( �am˥˥.to˥˥ zh , c = 安多 , p = Ānduō ), also known as Domey (), is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions. It encompasses a large area from the Machu (Yellow River) to the Drichu (Yangtze). Amdo is mostly coterminous wi ...
.
It has an area of and a population of , 90.4% of which are
Tibetan people
Tibetans () are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group Indigenous peoples, 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, sig ...
.
Governance
Ruo'ergai County Public Security Bureau () is the primary law enforcement agency of Ruo'ergai county. It operates police stations in , and .
On 14 July 2022, the
Ruo'ergai County Public Security Bureau began a major operation to crack down on firearms and explosives, seizing a total of 198 firearms, 4,300 rounds of ammunition, 10 hand grenades, 20 kg of explosives and an improvised mortar.
The
Ruo'ergai County Fire and Rescue Battalion () provides fire and rescue services in Ruo'ergai county.
Geography
Ruo'ergai County is found in the easternmost sections of the
Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or Qingzang Plateau, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central Asia, Central, South Asia, South, and East Asia. Geographically, it is located to the north of H ...
. The county is primarily a highland basin made up of the
Zoigê Marsh 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 in Gansu, is formed by the first major bend of the
Yellow River
The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...
where it changes course nearly 180 degrees and heads back towards
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 ...
.
Climate
Ruo'ergai has an alpine
subarctic climate
The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental 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 ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Dwc''), featuring very cold nights even in summertime, and very cold winters with extreme
diurnal temperature ranges. 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 Ruo'ergai 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
China National Highway 213 (G213) runs from Ceke, Inner Mongolia, to Mohan, on the border with Laos, in Yunnan. It is in length and runs via Chengdu, Sichuan and Kunming, Yunnan. Before the 2013 Highway Planning, the route started in Lanzhou, ...
*
China National Highway 248
Administrative divisions
Ruo'ergai County has 7
towns
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
and 6
townships:
National priority protected sites
There are two
National Priority protected sites in Ruo'ergai County.
* - added as part of the in 2006
**
**
* - added as part of the in 2013
References
"China Ruoergai" - County Government site
{{authority control
County-level divisions of Sichuan
Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture