Baiyu County

Baiyu is Chinese Pinyin, and it is transliteration of Tibetan, which was called “Pelyul” or “Palyul“.

“Bai” means “peace and prosperity” and “Yu” means “a place”; then “Baiyu” means “a peace and happiness place” in Tibetan

Baiyu County is under jurisdiction of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It is small, and surrounded by mountains. Ngu-chu (in chinese Ouqu), a tributary of Jinsha River, passes through the middle of Baiyu County, forming two main streets of Baiyu County, which are Hedong (meaning “East of River”) and Hexi (meaning “West of River”)

Location

Jianshe Town, the county seat of Baiyu, is 3,050 meters above sea level, about 622 kilometers away from the prefecture capital Kangding City, and 998 kilometers away from provincial capital Chengdu

It borders Xinlong County to east, Batang County and Litang County to south, Gonjo County and Jomda County in Tibet to west across Jinsha River, and Garze County and Dege County to north.

Most popular sites

Pelyul monastery, also known as “Pelyul Namgyel Jangchubling” in Tibetan, is located on a small hill in northern of Jianshe town of Pelyul County. It is a Nyingma pa monastery of Tibetan Buddhism.

It is also one of the six great monasteries of Nyingma Pa (the other five monasteries are Katok monastery, Dzogchen monastery, Shechen monastery, Mindrolling monastery, Dorje Drak monastery); The construction of Pelyul monastery began in the 4^th year of Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty (1665 AD)

Katok monastery is called “Katok Dorjeden Monastery” in full name and was built in 1159 AD. It is also knwon as “Gatok” or “Gathog”. “Katok” is a Tibetan transliteration, meaning “Above Ka”; “Dorjeden” means “Vajra”. According to legend, a huge rock was dug out on the site where Katok Monastery was built. The Tibetan character “Ka” was naturally created on this stone,and this place has been blessed for three times by Padmasambhava who was here to practice meditation, and his blessing power was the same as that of Indian Vajra, hence the monastery was named “Katok Dorjeden Monastery”.

Because it is the 1^st monastery in Kham, so that it is also known as birth center of Tibetan Buddhism in Kham. It is located on the hillside of Duoni Mountain in Bailong valley of Hepo District, with an altitude of 4800 meters and 51 kilometers north of Pelyul County.

Yarchen Gar monastery, the full name of Yachen Orgyan Monastery, is located in Changtuo Village of Acha Town, about 120 kilometers away from Baiyu County and with altitude of 3950 meters above sea level. It belongs to Nyingma pa of Tibetan Buddhism

Chaqing Songduo White-lipped Deer Nature Reserve is located in Marong Township of Baiyu County. It is a forest and wild animal type national nature reserve that mainly protects rare wild animals such as white-lipped deer, leopards, golden eagles and their natural ecosystems. The reserve was established in 1995 with total area of 1437 square kilometers.

Local customs

Tree burial, in Gaiyu Township, various small wooden boxes hanging from the trees on the banks of the confluence of three rivers. The wooden boxes are tied up along the trunk, ranging in length from 50 to 80 centimeters in various shapes, and all those are sealed. There are four or five wooden boxes hanging on one tree, or one or two on one tree. Those all look like a honeycomb built by a beekeeper. However, this is a unique local custom – tree burial.

Primitive tribes, there are still a number of large and small groups with male blood as the link – “Shanyan primitive patrilineal tribe”. “Shanyan” means “Dangerous terrain” in Tibetan.

Food and Beverage in Baiyu County, it is mainly Sichuan cuisine, cooked wheaten food. Tibetan food is mostly butter tea, tea, tsampa, highland barley wine, yogurt

Geography and climate

Baiyu County is located in the transition zone from Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. It belongs to northern section of Hengduan Mountains, on the east bank of the upper reaches of Jinsha River, 129km from east to west and 134km from south to north, with a total area of 10591 square kilometers.

The whole area of Baiyu County belongs to Shaluli Mountains, with mountainous landforms in the east, alpine valleys in the west and south, and shallow cut mountains and hills in northeast, mostly wide valleys and flat fields

The highest point is located in the southern part of Baiyu county bordering Batang County at an altitude of 5725 meters, and the lowest point is at an altitude of 2640 meters. The county has an average altitude of 3500 meters.

Baiyu County has a mild climate and sufficient sunshine. Annual average temperature is 7.7°C, average temperature in January is -1.6°C, average temperature in July is 15.8°C, the annual precipitation is 600 mm, frost-free period is 156 days, and annual average sunshine hours is 2134 hours.

Jinsha River flows through Baiyu County from north to south. Its total length within Baiyu County is 181 kilometers, which is the natural boundary between Tibet and Sichuan province

Population and ethnicity

As of 2021, Baiyu County has a total population of 57,000, of which Tibetans account for 91% of total population. Other ethnic groups include Qiang, Miao, Hui, Mongolian, Tujia, Lisu, Manchu, Yao, Dong, Naxi, Buyi. Ethnic group, Bai ethnic group, Zhuang, Dai people

Recommended Hotels in Pelyul

How to get to Pelyul County

Just like Dege county that Pelyul is also located in the hinterland of Kham, hidden in the jungles, the closest airport is Garze Gesar Airport, which is about 290 kilometers northeast;

There are now two ways to get into this small town.
–From northwest of De(Derge) – Bai(Baiyu) Road Starting from Derge, drive along east bank of Jinsha River which is the border river that separates Tibet Autonomous Region and Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan province, for about 105 kilometer.

–From northeast, Gan(Garze) – Bai(Baiyu) road Strating from Garze, about 228km to reach Pelyul county. It takes about 4-5 hours to cover this distance.

Distance from Pelyul to

• To Garze (Kanze): 230 kilometers, about 7 hours’ drive
• To Yarchen Gar : 140 kilometers, about 4 hours’ drive
• To Derge : 100 kilometers, about 3.5 hours’ drive
• To Katok monastery : 70 kilometers, about 2.5 hours’ drive
• To Dzongsar monastery : 90 kilometers, about 3.5 hours’ drive
• To Palpung monastery : 100 kilometers, about 4 hours’ drive
• To Batang : 200 kilometers, about 6.5 hours’ drive

Brief history

During Eastern Han Dynasty ((25 AD-220 AD)), Baiyu area was land of “White Wolf Kingdom”

White Wolf Kingdom was a kingdom established in Sichuan by the ancestors of Naxi people during Eastern Han Dynasty. Its territory includes areas such as Baiyu Countyand areas in the west of Yalong River in Sichuan today, and is adjacent to “Yak Kingdom” on the east side of Yalong River.

In Sui Dynasty (AD 581-AD 618), it belonged to Biyao Tribe of Fu Kingdom

During Tang Dynasty (618 AD-907 AD), it was occupied by Tubo Kingdom

During Song Dynasty (960 AD-1279 AD), it was occupied by Ling Kingdom

In Yuan Dynasty (AD 1271-AD 1368), Baiyu area was included in the Central Goverment, “Sama Dynasty” was established, which was under Mdo-khams Itinerant High Commandery, and “Chieftain system” was established in Hepo Township

After 12^th year of Emperor Chongzhen of Ming Dynasty (1639 AD), it was gradually controled by Derge Chieftain

In 2^nd year of Emperor Xuantong of Qing Dynasty (1910 AD), it was renamed as “Baiyu zhou”

In 2^nd year of Republic of China (1913), it was renamed “Baiyu County“, and being placed under Chuan Bian special administrative region

In 7^th year of Republic of China (1918), it was classified as Tibet after being occupied by Tibetan army, which lasted for 14 years.

In 21^st year of Republic of China (1932), it was vested in Xikang province

In 1950, Tibetan Autonomous Region of Xikang Province was established

In 1955, Tibetan Autonomous Region of Xikang Province was changed to Xikang Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in the same year, it was renamed as “Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture”, and “Baiyu County” was under its jurisdiction