Li County, also spelled as “Lixian County” is a county under the jurisdiction of Aba Tibetan Qiang Autonomous Prefecture
Li County is also known as “Tashilang” in Tibetan, meaning “Auspicious Land”. It is one of the transportation hub and commercial distribution markets in northwest Sichuan
Location
Zagunao Town is 1,888 meters above sea level, about 202 kilometers away from provincial capital Chengdu, and 193 kilometers away from prefecture,capital of Barkham.
It borders Mao County and Heishui County in northeast, Xiaojin County in southwest, Wenchuan County in southeast, and Barkham City and Hongyuan County in northwest.
Best time to travel
From May to October
Local climate
Mountain three-dimensional climate
Most popular sites
Miyaluo Red leaf Scenic Area “Miyaluo” means “Fun Grassland”in Tibetan, is one of the largest red leaf scenic spots across China. The total area of ??the scenic area is 3688 square kilometers, which is more than 180 times larger than Beijing Xiangshan Red Leaf Scenic Area. It is Red Leaf Scenic Area with the largest area and the most spectacular scenery in China.
“Gu-er-gou Hot Springs” contains more than 20 kinds of trace elements, which is very helpful to human health
Taoping Qiang people Village is located in Taoping Township, Li County of Aba Prefecture, 163 kilometers away from Chengdu and 41 kilometers away from county seat. There are 98 households in this village. It was built in 111 BC. It is a typical representative of Qiang architectural complex. It completely preserves ancient features of Qiang people. The whole village was built along the mountain slope one by one, and all houses are connected to each other, while a hidden ditch was built to drain mountain springs flowing from under houses in the village, which is very convenient for drinking, fire fighting and water fetching.
Bi Penggou Nature Reserve is the most elite part of the scenic spot, integrating the scenery of the plateau, mountains and canyons.
Geography and climate
Li County is located in western of Sichuan Province, on eastern edge of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, in the southeastern part of Aba Tibetan Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. It belongs to transition zone from the outer mountains of Sichuan Basin to western high plateau.
The terrain of Li County transitions from Middle high mountains to high mountains and high plains, and it slopes from northwest to southeast, covering an area of 4,318 square kilometers.
The mountains in Li County range from 1422 meters to 5922 meters above sea level, with an average elevation of 2700 meters.
Li County has a lot of precipitation in spring and summer with a short frost-free period in winter. The temperature rises quickly in spring and the temperature drops quickly in autumn. winter is longer, the climate is dry, the temperature is low
The highest monthly average temperature in Li County is in July and August, about 20.8-20.9℃, and the lowest month is January, the lowest temperature is -6.9℃. Annual average temperature in valley area is 6.9℃-11℃.
Annual rainfall is between 650 mm and 1000 mm, and 60% of annual precipitation is concentrated in May, June and September. The annual average number of precipitation days is 166, and the annual average number of snowfall days is 46 days.
Population and ethnicity
As of 2018, Li County has a total population of 43,375, Tibetan account for 53.4% of total population, Qiang people accounting for 33.5% of total population, Other minorities include Han, Hui, Miao, Zhuang people…etc,
How to get to Li County
The easiest and quickest way is to take vehicle to Li Xian from Chengdu, which is only 200 kilometers southeast from Li county and the drive takes about 3 hours drive.
Chengdu Airport
Website: http://www.cdairport.com/
Add: Shuangliu District, Chengdu
Contact: +86 28 85205555
Airport code: CTU
Altitude: 495 mete
Chengdu Cha Dian Zi bus station
Add: No. 289, Section 5th, West Third ring road;
Jin-Niu district, Chengdu
Contact: +86 28 87506610
Altitude: 460 meter
Distance from Li County to
- Chengdu : 200 kilometers, about 3 hours’ drive
- Langmu Si : 400 kilometers, about 6.5 hours’ drive
- Labrang monastery : 580 kilometers, about 9.5 hours’ drive
- Barkham: 150 kilometers, about 2.5 hours’ drive
- Huanglong: 290 kilometers, about 5.5 hours’ drive
- Heishui County: 200 kilometers, about 4 hours’ drive
- Kangding: 470 kilometers, about 6.5 hours’ drive
- Zoige County: 365 kilometers, about 6.5 hours’ drive
Brief History
During Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC), Li area belonged to Jian Di Dao (County)
In 111 BC, Wenshan County was set up, and was controled by Western Han dynasty
In 67 BC, Guangrou County was established in Li Area, and belonged to Shu County.
In AD 587, “Jinchuan county” was set up in this area
In AD 601, “Jinchuan county” was changed to “Tonghua county”
In AD 625, Xuecheng county and Weizhou were set up in this region
In AD 1407, Zagu Comforting Division was established
In 17th year of Emperor Qianlong of Qing Dynasty (AD 1752), Gaitu Guiliu was implanted in Li area
Gaitu Guiliu, also known as “conversion of chieftain system” or “conversion of abandoning chieftain system”, refers to abolition of chieftain who originally ruled ethnic minorities. Instead, officials appointed by the central government. It began in Emperor Yongle’s period at the beginning of Ming Dynasty and was implemented on a large scale during Emperor Yongzheng’s period of Qing Dynasty.
In 8th year of Emperor Jiaqing of Qing Dynasty (AD 1803), it was upgraded to a County under Li Fan Region
In 2nd year of Republic of China (1913), it was changed to Lifan County and belonged to Western Sichuan Province.
In 24th year of Republic of China, it was under 16th administrative inspection district of Sichuan Province.
In 35th year of Republic of China (1946), it was renamed Li County
In 1950, Lixian government was established, which belonged to Maoxian Prefecture.
In 1958, Maowen Qiang Autonomous County including Wenchuan and Maoxian was established,
In 1963, Li County was restored, and being placed under Aba Tibetan Qiang Autonomous Prefecture
