Facts
Phone Code: 0836
Postal Code: 626000
Area: 153,002 Sq km (59,074.1 Sq miles)
Population: 1,091,872 (in 2010)
Nationalities: Han, Tibetan, Hui, Miao, Yi, Zhuang, Buyi, Manchu, Bai, Tujia
Neighboring Areas: Sichuan, Yunnan and Qinghai Provinces, Tibetan Autonomous Region
Location: Located at the southeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the western part of Sichuan Province, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture borders Aba (Ngawa) Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture and Ya'an City in the east, meets Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan and Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan in the south, neighbors Chamdo Prefecture of Tibet along the Jinsha River in the west, and Yushu and Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures in the north.
Physical Features: Situated at the transitional area between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Sichuan Basin, Garze is endowed with various landforms, including mountains, plateaus, lakes, rivers, glaciers, plains, valleys, and springs. Its terrain is orientated northwest to southeast, with the Snow Mountain and Shaluli Mountain spreading across the whole territory, and the Jinsha, Yalong and Daduhe rivers flowing through from north to south.
History: From very early times, human beings have lived in the area of Garze. It was connected to the Central Plains under Empror Wudi's reign of the Western Han Dynasty (206BC - 24AD). Later in the Tang (618 - 907) and Song (960 - 1279) dynasties, local Tibetans established friendly exchanges with the Han people through the 'Tea-Horse Market', which lasted till the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911). In 1949, the People's Republic of China, following its recent founding, took control of Garze after defeating the Kuomintang .
Attractions: Entering Garze along the highway from Chengdu, the first stop is Kangding City, the seat of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. The Paoma Mountain situated outside Kangding City is reputed to be the 'Homeland of Love Songs'. Danba, in the north of the city, is both famed as 'Valley of Beauty' and 'Kingdom of Watchtowers'. Hailuo Valley and Swallow Valley in the south are breathtaking. The charming Savage Sea lies in the north of Kangding. Also, to the south, the magnificent Gongga Mountain and Erlang Mountain are located with Luding in between. Farther to the south is the Wuxu Sea, a bright pearl set in the Gongga Mountain.
Leaving Kangding City, there are tourist attractions to the north and to the west. To the north, Daofu County will be the first destination, where there are unique Tibetan-style residences with white-brown as the predominant color. Farther to the north is the hometown of King Gesar (a legendary hero of Tibetans) containing Luhuo Temple, Dajin Temple, Baiyu (White Jade) Temple and Changtai Temple. Moving to the west, Litang County situated in the central part of the Litang Maoya Grassland is fascinating at an altitude of over 4,000 meters (13,123.4 feet). Farther west, Batang Cuopu Valley Scenic Area combines magnificence and beauty. Alternatively, a journey to the south from Litang County to Daocheng and Yading takes you to 'the Core of Shangri-la'.
Transportation:
Air: Kangding Airport, second highest in altitude only to Chamdo Bangdag Airport of Tibet, was put into use in October, 2007. Besides the Chengdu-Kangding and Kunming-Chengdu-Kangding air routes, another three routes Beijing-Chengdu-Kangding, Chengdu-Kangding-Lhasa and Guangzhou-Chongqing-Kangding are intended to be opened in the near future. From the airport, it only takes about 2 hours to Paoma Mountain, Hailuo Valley, Danba and Luding. At the same time, Daocheng-Yading Airport is also under construction.
Bus: Buses are still the main transportation means to and within Garze. There are direct buses from Chengdu Xinnanmen Bus Station to Kangding, Garze and Daocheng counties and from Chengdu Chadianzi Bus Station to Danba County. Daocheng and Yading Scenic Area can also be reached from Zhongdian of Yunnan. Within Garze are National Highways 317, 318 and 5 provincial highways. Based on 7 trunk lines, Garze government is building a tourism loop line to connect Kanding, Daocheng-Yading, Litang, Danba, Shangri-la of Diqing, Lugu Lake of Lijiang and Siguniang Mountain of Aba together.
Weather: Garze has a long cold winter and rainy foggy summer, so spring (Apr.-May) and autumn (Sep.-Oct.) are the best visiting time.
Dining and Shopping
As the major part of the second largest Tibetan Area in China, Ganze is deeply influenced by the unique local environment and traditional Tibetan culture. The local people's lifestyle still maintains distinctive characteristics of nomadic tribes. They live on mutton, beef, Qingke (highland barley), corn, wheat as well as wild mushrooms, vegetables and fruits. Some typical local food is worth tasting, such as Shui Tao Zanba, Kangding Yellow Bean Jelly, Braised Chicken with Shredded Konjak, Dabutong Mutton Soup and Maiqiu Smoked Beef. Restaurants and snacks stands are distributed everywhere in the city.
Complicated landforms endow Garze with rich natural resources, including high mountain medicinal herbs (Tibetan Saffron, Snow Lotus Flower and Cord yceps sinensis), Danba guava, Batang apple, Shawan pear and Garze bean. As the home of the Tibetan ethnic minority, Tibetan clothing, arts and handicrafts and ornaments are also good souvenirs. West Street in Kangding is a good shopping area for visitors. There is also a pedestrian street for souvenirs in Dacheng County and many stores selling local crafts in Daofu County.
