Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, often shortened to Ganzi Prefecture, is an autonomous prefecture in the western arm of Sichuan province, China bordering Yunnan to the south, the Tibet Autonomous Region to the west, and Gansu to the north and northwest.

The prefecture's area is . The population is approximately 880,000, with Tibetans 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 and formed a borderland between the Tibetan Empire and its successor states and Imperial China. Its seat Kangding (under its Tibetan name Darzêdo) was the capital of the Kingdom of Chakla, which resisted Tibetan taxation by becoming a satellite state of the Qing Empire from the 17th to 20th centuries. As the Qing state weakened, local resistance to its dictates led to the 1905 Batang Uprising and a retaliatory punitive campaign by the assistant amban Zhao Erfeng.

During the Republican Period (19121949), Garzê was initially organized with most of Kham as Xikang Province. 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, Ma Bufang. The Chinese warlord Liu Wenhui occupied Garzê and signed an agreement with the Tibetans formalizing his control of the area east of the upper Yangtze, which corresponds roughly with eastern Kham (see Sino-Tibetan War).

In the final stages of the Chinese Civil War, Garzê remained under Kuomintang control until 1950, when it was surrendered to the PLA and the People's Republic of China. Eastern Xikang was merged with Sichuan in 1955, with Garzê being granted autonomous status owing to its large minority population.

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:

• Kangding: Guiqiong, Muya

• Luding County: Muya

• Danba County: rGyalrong

• Jiulong County: Pumi (Southern)

• Yajiang County: Zhaba

• Dawu County: Horpa

• Xinlong County: Queyu

Religion

Tibetan Buddhism 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 Highways, Tagong (in between both highways), Daocheng and Yading (south of both highways)

• Traditional folk houses in Garze, Sichuan