The full name of Muli County is “Muli Tibetan Autonomous County“, Muli is an umlaut of the Tibetan word “Mili“, which means located on the edge of Litang county. So Muli county is also known as “Mili County“.
Muli County is a Tibetan autonomous county under the jurisdiction of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture. The autonomous region was established in 1952 and changed to an autonomous county in 1953.
Location
Muli County is located on the southwestern edge of Sichuan Province, spanning the Yalong River in the east, Gongga Mountain in the west, Jinsha River in the south, and Garzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the north, covering an area of 13,000 square kilometers.
Muli County is one of only two Tibetan autonomous counties in China, and the other one is Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County in Gansu Province
Best travel time
Suitable for four seasons
Local climate
plateau climate
Most popular sites
Mili Gompa also known as “Ganden Shedrub Namgyeling“. It is located in Yidian Village, about 2637 meters above sea level, with a construction area of more than 80,000 square meters, 120 kilometers away from the county seat of Qiaowa Town. In 2005, it was listed as a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit in Sichuan Province.
Kangwu monastery is also known as “khe’ong dgon“. Located on the top of Kangwu Mountain in Kangwu Ranch, with an altitude of 3407 meters and a construction area of 20,000 square meters, it is 50 kilometers away from the county seat. It is the second large monastery built in Muli. It was listed as a key cultural relic protection unit in Sichuan Province in 2007.
Waerzhai monastery is also known as “Dawachen Ganden Dargyeling“. It is the first Gelugpa monastery built in Muli, with an altitude of 3382 meters and a construction area of about 30,000 square meters. It is 180 kilometers away from the county seat of Qiaowa Town. It is also one of the three major temples in Muli. The temple’s treasure, the Jowo Buddha Statue, togehter with the Jowo Buddha Statue in Jokhang Temple in Lhasa and the one in Lhagang monastery in Garzi Prefecture are the life-sized statue of Buddha Shakyamuni at different ages.
Hunsha Shenbi (Outrigger) Bridge, Located in Tangyang Township, the upper reaches of the Muli River. The entire bridge is made of logs and stones. The middle of the bridge is filled with stones to increase the weight of the bridge piers and ensure the support of the bridge arms. It straddles both banks of the river. The bridge is 29.9 meters long, 1.5 meters wide and 7 meters high. Listed as a key cultural relics protection unit in Sichuan Province in 2003
Geography and climate
Muli County is located on the southwestern edge of Sichuan Province, in the northwest of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture.
The southeast of the county borders with Mianning County and Yanyuan County in the prefecture; the northwest is connected with Daocheng County, Litang County, Yajiang County, Kangding City and Jiulong County of Ganze Prefecture; The southwest is adjacent to Shangri-La City, Yulong Naxi Autonomous County, and Ninglang Yi Autonomous County in Yunnan Province.
It is about 160 kilometers wide from east to west and 170 kilometers long from north to south. The county seat is Qiaowa Town, 254 kilometers away from Xichang, the capital of Liangshan Prefecture
The territory is located in the transition zone between the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Due to the deep cutting of the river, the relative height difference between the ridge and valley is very large, and the northern Muli Tibetan Autonomous County is below 2,000 meters.
The Charang Duoji Peak at the junction of the west and Daocheng County is 5958 meters high. The lowest point, Sanjiangkou, is 1530 meters above sea level, with a relative elevation difference of 4,428 meters.
The county has formed three large landforms, the mountainous landform in the northwest, the middle-high mountain deep-cut landform in the southeast and the high mountain deep-cut landform in the southwest.
The terrain of the county slopes to the south, and the rivers flows into the Jinsha River from north to south, which is a typical mountain and valley landform.
The climate in Muli County is characterized by alternating hot and cold seasons, distinct dry and wet seasons, small annual temperature difference, large daily temperature difference, and strong radiation. There is no climate characteristic of four seasons. The annual average temperature is 14.0℃, the average temperature in January is 7.5℃, the extreme minimum temperature is -5.4℃ (January 18, 2011); the average temperature in July is 18.9℃, and the extreme maximum temperature is 33.6℃ (May 21, 2012), the lowest The monthly average temperature is 7.4℃, the highest monthly average temperature is 19.0℃.
Population and ethnic groups
As of the end of 2016, Muli County has a total population of 140,000. The Tibetan population of the county accounts for 33% of the total population. In addition, the Yi population accounts for 31% of the total population, the Han population accounts for 18% of the total population, and there are also Mongolians, Miao, Naxi, Hui, Buyi, Lisu and other 22 ethnic groups
Brief History
In the dynasties of the early Han, Later Han, Shu-han, Jin Dynasty, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Song and Ming Dynasty, Muli area was under jurisdiction of Yue-Xi County
In the Southern Dynasties Qi and Hou Zhou (AD 479-568), Muli area was under the jurisdiction of Lijun and Yanzhou respectively
In the 6th year of Emperor Kaihuang in Sui Dynasty (586-618 AD), Muli area belonged to Yuexi region
From the 2nd year of Emperor Wude of Tang Dynasty to the second year of Zhenyuan of Emperor Dezong (619-786 AD), Muli area fell into the power of Tubo twice.
From the 6th year of Xiantong of Emperor Yizong (AD 865) to the 8th year of Jiading of Emperor Ningzong (AD 1215) of Song Dynasty, Muli Muli was recliamed by the central goverment
From AD 1290 to AD 1368, Muli area was called “Gold County”, because of the local gold production
In the 25th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1392), “Gold County” was abolished, Muli area belonged to Yanjingwei (now Yanyuan county)
In the 6th year of the Emperor Yongzheng (AD 1728), Yanjingwei was abolished, Yanyuan County was established, Muli area was under the jurisdiction ofYanyuan County
In the 28th year of the Republic of China (AD 1939), Muli area was under the jurisdiction of Xikang Province
In 1953, the Muli Tibetan Autonomous Region was formally established.
In 1955, it was changed to Muli Tibetan Autonomous County.
In 1955, Xikang Province was abolished and Muli was under the jurisdiction of Xichang Prefecture, Sichuan Province.
In 1978, Muli County was under the jurisdiction of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province.
