Danba county

Danba County, also known as “Rongtrak County” in Tibetan, is a county under jurisdiction of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. When this county was established, the first characters of three chieftains of “Dandong”, “Badi” and “Bawang” were transliterated into Chinese as the county name, hence it is named as “Danba”.

Danba County is the most typical Jiarong Tibetan culture representative area which was under jurisdiction of Jiarong 18 Tusi (Chieftain) in the past, and it is one of the centers and birthplaces of Jiarong Tibetan culture.

Location

The county seat of Zhanggu Town (in TibetanRongmi Drango) is located by Dadu River with altitude of 1800 meters above sea level, about 137 kilometers away from Garze Prefecture capital Kangding and 368 kilometers away from Chengdu

Danba County borders Xiaojin County to east, Kangding to south and southeast, Dawu County to west, and Jinchuan County to north and northeast.

Most popular sites

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Jiaju Tibetan Village is located in Danba County, about 8 kilometers away from county seat. It is the most distinctive tourist attraction in Danba. In September 2016, it was officially approved as a national 4A-level tourist attraction. “Jiaju” means a hundred families in Tibetan. This Tibetan village extends from Dajin River valley onto the foot of Kapama mountain

Mount (Gyelmo) Murdo, the sacred mountain of Bon religin which is the oldest religion of Tibetans, Jiarong Tibetan cultural center, a symbol of national heroes, one of the four sacred mountains in Tibetan areas, with altitude of 5105 meters above sea level. According to the records of “Murdo Holy Mountain Records” that There are a total of 108 sacred sites and more than a thousand scenic spots on this mountain.

Danba Ancient Diaolou(Watching Tower), Danba Diaolou in its heyday were no less than 3000, there are now only 166 ancient Diaolou left, mainly distributed in Suopo village, Puchang village, and Zhonglu village, of which 84 are Suopo, 29 are in Pugeding and 21 in Zhonglu, and there are about 32 scattered in the remaining townships.

The existing Diaolou was first built in Tang Dynasty, the latest were built in Qing Dynasty. These ancient Diaolous have a variety of architectural forms. From its shape, it can be divided into four corners, pentagons, hexagons, octagons, and thirteen corners. But mostly, four-corners Diaolou

Phuntsoling Monastery is located in Badi Township of Danba County. It was built during Yongle period of Ming Dynasty (AD 1420). It is one of 108 Gelug pa monasteries in eastern Jamurung area founded by Tsako Ngawang Drakpa, a disciple of Tsongkhapa

Jiadolo Monastery、 is also called Amdo Yongzhong Dechenling Monastery, located in Dasang Village of Geshizha Township. It is about 20 kilometers away from Danba County seat, covers an area of 1,005 square meters with a building area of 3,300 square meters. Jiadolo Monastery has a history of over a thousand years, and the first living Buddha Nima Wisek (1758 AD~1816 AD) expanded in scale and named it Amdo Yongzhong Dechenling Monastery

Geography and climate

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Danba County is located in eastern of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, on southeastern edge of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and western slope of Qionglai Mountains. It is 87 kilometers from east to west, 106 kilometers from north to south, and covers an area of 5649 square kilometers.

Danba County is a high mountain and narrow valley landform. Its terrain is high in southwest and low in southeast. The lowest elevation of the county is 1,700 meters, the highest elevation is 5820 meters, and the relative elevation difference is 4120 meters

Dadu River runs through entire territory from north to south, and is part of the alpine valley in western Sichuan province

Danba County is with no severe cold in winter and scorching heat in summer. The temperature difference between the top of the mountain and the valley is more than 24℃,

Annual average temperature is 14.2℃, and the average temperature in January is 4.4℃. August is the hottest month with an average monthly temperature of 22.4°C. The frost-free period is 316 days, and annual precipitation is 600 mm.

Population and ethnicity

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As of 2016, Danba County has a total population of more than 70,200 people, of which Tibetans account for 74.53% of total population, Han people account for 22.19% of total population, and other ethnic groups include 15 ethnic groups including Hui, Yi, Miao, Manchu, and Qiang. ,

How to get to Danba

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The closest airport is Kangding airport, which is 190 kilometers southwest. After arriving the Kangding airport then switch to local vehicle and drive for about 4-5 hours to get to Danba

Long distance Bus Rates and schedule

• Chengdu to Danba two departures a day on 06:30 am and 07:30 am, ticket: RMB 93 per person
• Kangding to Danba one departure at 08:00 am, ticket rate: RMB 35 per person
• Bamei to Danba one departure at 12:00 pm, ticket rate: RMB 26 per person
• Danba to Barkham one departure at 07:30 am, ticket rate: RMB 40 per person

Estimated rates on renting vehicle

• Chengdu to Danba it usually costs RMB 2,000 one way for a 5 seats sedan or 7 seats minivan
• Kangding to Danba it usually costs RMB 800 – 1000 one way for a 5 seats sedan or 7 seats minivan
• Bamei to Danba it usually costs RMB 500 – 700 one way for a 5 seats sedan or 7 seats minivan
• Danba to Barkham it usually costs RMB 800 – 1000 one way for a 5 seats sedan or 7 seats minivan

Distance from Danba to

• Chengdu : 368 kilometers about 6.5 hours’ drive
• Kangding : 137 kilometers about 4 hours’ drive
• Kangding Airport: 160 kilometers about 3.5 hours’ drive
• Bamei County: 90 kilometers about 2.5 hours’ drive
• Barkham City: 190 kilometers about 4.5 hours’ drive
• Dawu County: 165 kilometers about 3.5 hours’ drive
• Garze County: 330 kilometers about 6.5 hours’ drive

Brief History

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During Warring States Period (475 BC-221 BC), Danba area was ruled by Shu kingdom

During Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC), it was border town of Shujun.

During Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD), it belonged to “Xi(West) Qiang”

In Sui Dynasty (AD 581-AD 618), it belonged to Jialiangyi tribe

During Tang Dynasty (618 AD-907 AD),it belonged to Jinchuan Chieftain.

In the later period of Tang Dynasty (618 AD-907 AD), Tubo kingdom occupied Danba area

In Song Dynasty (AD 960-AD 1279), it was under jurisdiction of Jialiang prefecture

In Yuan Dynasty (AD 1271-AD 1368), it was under jurisdiction of Changhexi, Yutong, and Ningyuan Military and Civilian Pacification Commissioner’s Office

In Ming Dynasty (AD 1368-AD 1644), some areas of Danba county was under control of Xian Itinerant High Commandery

In 12^th year of Emperor Tongzhi of Qing Dynasty (1837 AD), on the basis of the original Zhanggu (Rongmi Drango) jurisdiction, four nearby Tusi（chieftain）territories were included and belonged to Dartsedo Ting (County). At this point, the rudimentary form of setting up county governance boundaries has basically been formed.

In the 1^st year of Republic of China (1912), Danba County was established, and was placed under Kangding Border Economic and Technical Office,

In 28^th year of Republic of China (1939), Xikang Province was established, and Danba County was subordinate to the first administrative inspection district.

In 1950, Xikang Tibetan Autonomous Region was established, and Danba County was under its jurisdiction.

In 1955, Xikang Tibetan Autonomous Region was changed Xikang Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture; in October of the same year, Xikang Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture was abolished, and Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province was established, since then Danba County was under its jurisdiction.