Xiahe county, also known as “Sangchu County” in Tibetan, is a county under Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, it is named after Daxia River in its territory.
Location
Xiahe County is located in southwest of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It borders Hezuo City in the east, Luchu County in south, Linxia County, Xunhua County, and Tongren County of Qinghai Province to north, and Zeku County to west. Covering an area of 6674 square kilometers, county seat is Labrang Town.
Labrang Monastery, one of six major monasteries of Gelug pa of Tibetan Buddhism, is located in western part of county.
Best travel time
Throughout a year
Local climate
Cold and humid
Most popular sites
Labrang Monastery is a masterpiece of Tibetan culture in ancient Amdo region. It is not only a treasure house of literature and art, but also a museum of historical materials and cultural relics. This treasure house of Tibetan classics, historical archives and classic scriptures is preserved with numerous volumes. According to statistics of “Labrang Monastery General Bibliography”, there are more than 65,000 sutra books, among which there are 380 kinds of biography.
Ruins of Octagonal City, octagonal city has a total length of 2193.4 meters and it is in shape of a hollow cross. It has eight corners, so it is called octagonal city. It was an important military town that had been fiercely contested between central government of China and Tuyuhun regime, Tubo kingdom and Xixia kingdom in history. It was listed as a key cultural relics protection unit in Gansu Province in 1981
Sangke Grassland is located in Xiahe, 10 kilometers away from county seat. Sangke grassland is a meadow grassland with an average elevation of over 3000 meters and a grassland area of 70 square kilometers. It is one of main animal husbandry bases of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
Geography and climate
Xiahe County is located on northeastern edge of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Terrain slopes from northwest to southeast, and altitude is between 3000m-3800m.
Climate in Xiahe County is cold and humid. Annual average temperature is 2.6°C, average annual precipitation is 516 mm, average annual frost-free period is 56 days, and annual sunshine time is 2,296 hours.
Rivers in Xiahe County belong to Yellow River system, mainly including Daxia River and Tao River. Among them, Daxia River flows through 1 town and 6 townships, with a drainage area of 4,545 square kilometers and 104 kilometers of internal flow.
Population and ethnic group
As of March 2013, total population of Xiahe County was 87,800, of which Tibetan population accounted for 82%. There are 18 ethnic groups including Tibet, Han and Hui…etc, in Xiahe.
Brief history
From Shang Dynasty to early Han Dynasty, Xiahe area was Qiang Rong pasture.
In 6th year of Emperor Zhao of Western Han Dynasty (BC 81), Baishi County (Xiahe region) was established and under jurisdiction of Jincheng County.
In Eastern Han Dynasty, it was under jurisdiction of Longxi County.
In Western Jin Dynasty, Xiahe area was under jurisdiction of Jinxing County, and was later occupied by Tuyuhun regime
From 16 Kingdoms to Sui Dynasty, most of Xiahe area belonged to Hezhou.
In 13th year of Tianbao in Tang Dynasty (AD 754), Xiahe area was set up as a military base;
During Anshi Rebellion of Tang Dynasty, Xiahe area was occupied by Tubo kingdom
In Northern Song Dynasty, Xiahe area was under jurisdiction of Huaiqiang County, and later it was under jurisdiction of Gan and Qing tibetan.
At beginning of Qing Dynasty, it belonged to Xunhua Region,
In 48th year of Emperor Kangxi (AD 1709), Labrang Monastery was established, and surrounding monasteries were successively attached to it. Qing government then set up Labrang Sub-Mansion in Labrang and was attached to Xunhua County
In 60th year of Qianlong’s reign (AD 1795), Labrang Monastery was set up as a “sangcang” that to directly manage political and religious affairs and civil cases in 13 villages around temple.
In 15th year of Republic of China (AD 1926), Gansu Provincial Government demarcated Labrang from Xunhua County.
In 16th year of Republic of China (AD 1927), three counties of Linxia, Lintan, and Xunhua were set up administrative bureaus in Labrang. Its jurisdiction includes three counties of Jinxiahe, Luqu, and Maqu, which are directly under Gansu Provincial Government.
In 17th year of Republic of China (1928), Labrang was established to govern county and was renamed as “Xiahe County” because that Daxia River traverses county
In 30th year of Republic of China (1941), “Yicang” of Labrang Monastery was established to take charge of political, religious, and military affairs of whole temple and its affiliated monasteries and tribes.
In 1949, Xiahe County was established
In 1958, Xiahe County was abolished and being replaced by Deulu City
In 1961, it was restored to Xiahe County.
