Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture

History and names

During the reign of Tibet's king Trisong Detsen in the 8th century, the Gyalrong area was visited by the great translator Vairotsana.

In 1410 Je Tsongkhapa's student Tshakho Ngawang Tapa established the first Tibetan Buddhist Gelug school monastery in the area, called "Gyalrong".

In contemporary history, most of Ngawa was under the 16th Administrative Prefecture of Szechwan (四川省第十六行政督察區), which was established by the Republic of China (ROC).

The People's Republic of China defeated ROC troops in this area during Chinese Civil war and subsequently established a Tibetan autonomous prefecture by late 1952. It was renamed Aba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in 1956 and Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in 1987.

On May 12, 2008, a major earthquake occurred in Wenchuan County (), a county in the southeastern part of this autonomous prefecture. 20,258 people were killed, 45,079 injured, 7,696 missing in the prefecture as of June 6, 2008.

Geography

Most of the prefecture lies in the Tibetan cultural and historical region of Amdo. The west, and part of Kardze, is also known as Gyalrong. Gyalrong people speak a Qiangic language known as Gyalrong language. The source of the Min River and its tributary Dadu River are to be found in Ngawa.

Demographics

, the prefecture's population was 919,987 inhabitants at a density of 10.91 per km2. At the end of 2024, the resident population of the whole state was 828,000, including 372,000 in urban areas and 456,000 in rural areas.

Languages

Major languages spoken in Aba Prefecture include Tibetan, Mandarin Chinese and many vernaculars of the Qiangic languages which vary from county to county:

• Barkam: rGyalrong
• Li County: Southern Qiang, rGyalrong
• Mao County: Northern Qiang, Southern Qiang
• Jiuzhaigou County: Baima
• Jinchuan County: Khroskyabs, rGyalrong
• Xiaojin County: rGyalrong
• Heishui County: Northern Qiang, rGyalrong
• Zamtang County: Amdo Tibetan

In April 2020, classroom instruction was switched from Tibetan to Mandarin Chinese in Ngaba.

Administrative divisions

The region is composed of one county-level city and twelve counties:

Though situated within Wenchuan County, Wolong National Nature Reserve and Wolong Special Administrative Region are administered separately by the Forestry Department of Sichuan.

Transportation

The prefecture is served by Hongyuan Airport in the west and Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport in the east. Private taxis can be hired from these airports. Jiuzhaigou Train Station is under construction 55 km north-west of Jiuzhaigou County's town. The railway is to run between Chengdu and Lanzhou.

Tourism

Tourism produced 71.0% of the GDP of the prefecture in 2006. There are many places of interest in the prefecture, including

• Wolong National Nature Reserve in Wenchuan County, a well-known giant panda reserve where the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda was established in 1980
• Kirti Gompa, a 15th-century Tibetan Buddhism monastery
• Nangzhik Gompa monastery, founded in the 12th century
• Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area in Songpan County
• Jiuzhaigou, Jiuzhaigou County, a nature reserve known for its many multi-level waterfalls and colorful lakes, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992
• Mount Siguniang (四姑娘山 "Sku Mountain"; formerly 四姑山, a transcription), the highest point of the Qionglai Mountains, on the border between Xiaojin County (小金县; Tibetan: ) and Wenchuan County.

References

References

1. 四川省统计局、国家统计局四川调查总队. (September 2016). "《四川统计年鉴－2016》". [[China Statistics Press]].
2. "阿坝藏族羌族自治州2022年国民经济和社会发展统计公报_阿坝藏族羌族自治州统计局".
3. "Öйú°¢°ÓÖÝ".
4. link. Ngawa Prefecture People's Government
5. link. (2008-06-02). [[Sina.com]]
6. link. Ngawa Prefecture People's Government. (2008-06-07)
7. link. Ngawa Prefecture People's Government
8. "(四川省)阿坝藏族羌族自治州2024年国民经济和社会发展统计公报-红黑统计公报库".
9. Lobe Socktsang. (9 April 2020). "Classroom Instruction Switch From Tibetan to Chinese in Ngaba Sparks Worry, Anger".
10. link. Ngawa Prefecture Government