Luhuo County is a county under jurisdiction of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, a semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral area.
Luhuo, formerly known as “Drango” or “Hor Drango” in Tibetan, which “Hor” means Mongols, and “Drango” means on the rock. Because the village of chieftain, whom was descendant of Mongol, was located on the rock, so that it was called “Hor Drango“.
In the 23rd year of Emperor Guangxu of Qing Dynasty (AD 1897), the Qing government named “Luhuo” when setting up local government organizations, because “Lu” is Chinese Pinyin abbreviation of “Dartsedo”, and “Huo” is Chinese Pinyin abbreviation of “Hor”, hence, it got its name “Luhuo”
Location
Xindu Town, the county seat, is 3250 meters above sea level, 291 kilometers away from the prefectural capital Kangding City, and 654 kilometers away from provincial capital Chengdu
Luhuo County borders Dawu County to east, Garze County to northwest, Xinlong County to southwest, Sertar County to north, and Zamthang County and Jinchuan County of Aba Prefecture to northeast.
Most of the buildings in Luhuo County were rebuilt after a 7.6 degree earthquake hit in 1973, so the entire Luhuo County town looks very new
Sichuan-Tibet Highway 317 runs through the entire territory from southeast to northwest, and Luhuo had been an important post for getting to Tibet and Qinghai as well as the ancient tea-horse Trading route
Best time to travel
From May to October
Local climate
Inland monsoon plateau climate
Most popular sites
Kasa Lake, also known as “Joro Lake” in Tibetan, is located 60 kilometers west of the northwest of Luhuo County, with an altitude of 3510 meters. It is a plateau freshwater lake with a total area of 1.92 square kilometers and is the largest lake in Luhuo. It was listed as a “Provincial Nature Reserve” in 1999, and it is also a well-known holy lake in local
Joro Gompa, also known as “Kasa monastery“, is a relatively large Gelug pa monastery. It was built in 1642 AD with location above Kasa lake, and 3,417 meters above sea level.
Kasa Stone Coffin Tombs The stone coffin of ancient nomads from Warring States(475 BC-221 BC) to Western Han Dynasty(202 BC-8 AD) excavated on the north side of the lake in 1984 are the largest stone coffin tombs discovered in Sichuan province and with high research value
Shouling Monastery is called “Drango monastery” in Tibetan. It is a Gelug Pa monastery founded in 1650 AD and once housed more than 1000 monks. The monastery is located on the north side of Luhuo County, at an altitude of 3,200 meters and 2 kilometers from the center of the town.
The overall building of the monastery is divided into three parts, Upper, the middle and the lower part which are built along the hillside. The main hall which has 63 pillars can accommodate more than 2,000 people at the same time. There are murals reflecting the local Chieftain’s family on the periphery of the outer wall of the main Hall
Geography and climate
Luhuo County is located in north-central part of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It is in the contact zone between plateau and mountains in Western Sichuan, with an area of 5796 square kilometers.
The terrain of Luhuo County is high in northwest and low in southeast. Most of the mountains and rivers run from northwest to southeast. Mount Muni Mangqi extends from the north to enter Luohuo county, and Zhe-chu (Xianshui River) flows from northwest to southeast through the county.
Luhuo County is located in Zhe-chu (Xianshui River) Basin, a tributary of Yalong River, with an average elevation of 3860 meters
The climate in Luhuo County is warm in summer, cold in winter and spring, with dry air and heavy wind and sand.
Annual average temperature is 6.4°C, the highest temperature is 31.0°C, the lowest temperature is -24.0°C, average temperature in January is -3.7°C, and average temperature in July is 14.6°C. Annual sunshine hour is 2605 hours, and frost-free period is 94 days.
Population and ethnicity
As of 2011, the total population of Luhuo County was 45,960, among which Tibetan population accounted for more than 92% of total population. Other ethnic groups include Han, Yi, Qiang, Miao, Hui, Mongolian, Tujia, Lisu, Manchu, and Yao. , Dong, Naxi, Buyi, Bai, Zhuang, Dai and other ethnic groups.
Recommended Accommodation
Gang Di si Hotel
Add: No. 116, Jian She Road
Contact: +86 836 7327222
Hong Fu Grand Hotel
Add: No. 15, Tuan Jie Road
Contact: +86 836 7322566
Luo Bu Ling Hotel
Add: No. 101, Tuan Jie Road
Contact: +86 836 7322666
Sheng Jie Business Hotel
Add: North 3rd Alley, Jian She Road
Contact: +86 836 7327333
Yong Jin Dolma hotel
Add: Near Luo-Ser Bridge
Contact: +86 836 7328333
Yuan Fang Hotel
Add: East 3rd Alley, Tuan jie Road
Contact: +86 836 7322345
How to get to Luhuo county
Luhuo county is located at the bottom of three valleys joints, which lead to Barkham to the north, Garze to the West, and Dawu Countyto the East. It neighboring Xinlong county to its southwest.
There are regular buses from Kangding to Luhuo, Kanze to Luhuo; In addition to regular buses, local minivan is very motivated to provide short distance transportation, and also providing Rental services, it usually cost RMB 600 – 800 one way to Kanze or Dawu, or RMB 800 – 1000 one way to Sertar county
There are two airports that near Luhuo county. One is Kangding Airport which is 225 kilometers east, an approximately 4.5 hours drive to cover this drive. Another one is Garze Gesar airport which is 150 kilometers, and 3.5 hours’ drive is needed;
Kanze Gesar Airport
IATA Code: GZG
Altitude: 4,061 meters
Luhuo Bus Station
Add : No. 15, Tuan Jie Road
Altitude : 3,150 meters
Distance from Luhuo to
- Dawu 78 kilometers on paved road, about 2 hours’ drive
- Garze (Kanze) 90 kilometers on paved road, about 2-3 hours’ drive
- Barkham 265 kilometers on paved road, about 5-6 hours’ drive
- Sertar 155 kilometers on paved road, about 3 hours’ drive
Brief History
During Yin & Zhou Dynasty(1600 BC-256 BC), Luhuo area belong to “Rong Tribe”
During Spring and Autumn Period(770 BC-476 BC / 403 BC), Qiang Tribe migrated toward south and formed the “Yak Qiang Tribe” in Luhuo area
In 135BC, Luhuo area belonged to Han Dynasty
During Sui Dynasty(AD 581-AD 619), it belonged to Fu kingdom
In 12th year of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty (AD 638), it was annexed by Tubo kingdom
During Song Dynasty (960 AD-1279 AD), Luhuo area was one of the 44 chieftains’ region
During Yuan Dynasty (1271-AD 1368) and Ming Dynasty(AD 1368-AD 1644), it followed Song Dynasty’s administrative settings in Luhuo area, however, “chieftain system” was implemented
During Qing Dynasty(AD 1636-AD 1912), it inherited the old system to manage Luhuo area
In 30th year of Emperor Guangxu of Qing Dynasty (1904), The local administration organization was established in Luhuo area, and it was under jurisdiction of “Dartsodo”
In 2nd year of Republic of China (1914), Luhuo County was established
In 25th year of Republic of China (1936), The Red Army arrived in Luhuo and established Boba government
In 1950, Luhuo county was under jurisdiction of Tibetan Autonomous Region of Xikang Province;
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”, since then Luhuo County was under its jurisdiction
