Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture

Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture in southern Gansu Province, China. It includes Xiahe and the Labrang Monastery, Luqu, Maqu, and other mostly Tibetan towns and villages. Gannan has an area of 40,898 km? and its capital is Hezuo.

Population

According to the 2000 census, Gannan has 640,106 inhabitants .

Ethnic groups in Gannan, 2000 census

Subdivisions

1 county level city, 7 counties.
* County level city: Hzoo
* County: Lintan County, Chone County, Chochu County, Tewoo County, Machu County, Hluchu County, Lhabrang County.

Xifeng District

Xifeng District is a district of Qingyang in Gansu Province, China.
The city has an area of 996 km? and a population of approximately 325,200.

In 1985, Xifeng was upgraded to a city in Qingyang Prefecture.
In 2002, Qingyang Prefecture was upgraded to a prefecture-level city, and Xifeng City became its district.

List of prisons in Gansu province

This is a list of prisons within Gansu province of the People's Republic of China.

* Baiyin Prison
* Dingxi Prison
* Gan'gu Prison
* Hezuo Prison
* Jinchang Prison
* Jingyuan Prison
* Jiuquan Prison
* Lanzhou Prison
* Longxi Prison
* Pingliang Prison
* Provincial No. 4 Prison
* Provincial Women's Prison
* Tianshui Prison
* Prison
* Tongcheng Prison
* Wudu Prison
* Wuwei Prison
* Yongdeng Prison
* Yumen Prison

Online Version of the Source

List of administrative divisions of Gansu

Gansu, a of the People's Republic of China, is made up of the following :

* 14 prefecture-level divisions
** 12
** 2
* 86 county-level divisions
** 4 county-level cities
** 58
** 7
** 17 s
* 1348 township-level divisions
** 457 s
** 740 s
** 30 ethnic townships
** 121 subdistricts

These administrative divisions are explained in greater detail at Political divisions of China. The following table lists only the prefecture-level and county-level divisions of Gansu.

Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture

Linxia Autonomous Prefecture is in Western China's Gansu Province, south of the capital, Lanzhou. It is an autonomous prefecture for the Muslim Hui people, a large Chinese ethnic group.

Geography and climate

Linxia is located in southwestern central Gansu. It is just south of Lanzhou and borders Qinghai province to the west. The terrain is highlands, mountains, and ''loess'' hills. The Yellow River, which gets its muddy yellow color from the loess runs through the northwestern part of the prefecture. Elevation averages 2000 meters above sea-level. The average temperature is 8°C and there are only 155 frost-free days a year. The area is semi-arid with annual percipitation of only 442 mm. Total area is 8,169 km?.

History and culture

Linxia is famous for a certain style of round glasses worn during the Qing Dynasty that are still made there today.

Administration

The prefecture is subdivided into 8 : 1 county-level city, 5 and 2 :
*county level city:
**Linxia City
*counties:
**Linxia County
**Kangle County
**Yongjing County
**Guanghe County
**Hezheng County
*autonomous counties
**Dongxiang Autonomous County
**Jishishan Bonan, Dongxiang and Salar Autonomous County

Demographics

2002 population was 1,907,900 people. Average population density is 233 per km?. Ethnic minority groups include , , Salar, , and others. Altogether there are 16 ethnic groups with a population of 1,700,000; 56% of the total population of Linxia.

Economy

Linxia's 2002 GDP was 3.3 billion RMB, which was 10.7% growth over the previous year. The per capita GDP was 1,778RMB, which was 9.9% growth over the previous year. Agriculture, manufacturing, building materials, finance, hydropower , and tourism are all important industries. Linxia, specifically , is the center of trade, transport, and industry for the area directly south of Lanzhou.

Tourism

Linxia is blessed with both natural and cultural wonders. The Yellow River runs through the north of the prefecture where at Yongjing's Liujiaxia Dam it forms a large reservoir. Yongjing is also the starting point to trips to the Bingling Temple's ancient Buddhist cave grottoes. Fossils are plentiful in the dry rugged Badland-esque terrain making Yongjing the future home to a proposed dinosaur themed park. There are numerous mosques and temple throughout the rest of Linxia. Beautiful mountain scenery can be found at Taizi Mountain nature reserve. In 2002 these sites and others drew 400,000 tourists, up 20%, who added a total 110,000,000 RMB, up 50%, to the local economy.

Linxia is also a stop on trips from Lanzhou to towns in the Tibetan parts of southern Gansu including the famed Labrang Monastery in Xiahe.

News

On September 6, 2006 it was reported that 879 or more villagers from the Xinsi and villages had been from a local smelter.

Labrang Monastery

Labrang Monastery is one of the six great monasteries of the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism, of which the Dalai Lama is a member. Labrang is located in Xiahe County in Gansu province, and also in the traditional Tibetan province of Amdo. Labrang Monastery is home to the largest number of monks outside of Tibet Autonomous Region. Xiahe is located about 4 hours from the city of Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu.

Labrang Monastery is located in the town of Xiahe, which belongs to the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. The town is reflection of the different minorities that can be found in China, such as Tibetans , and Han Chinese .

Although the region is mostly rural and pastoral , tourism is growing rapidly mainly due to the monastery.

The monastery was founded in 1709 by the first Jamyang Zhaypa, Ngawang Tsondru. It is Tibetan Buddhism's most important monastery town outside the Tibetan Autonomous Region.

The monastery complex dominates the northern village. The white walls and golden roofs feature a blend of Tibetan and Han architectural styles. The monastery contains 18 halls, six institutes of learning, a golden stupa, a sutra debate, and nearly 60,000 sutras. There once were more than 2000 monks in residence, but now only 500, due to a twelve year closure starting in 1958. It has a Buddhist museum with a large collection of Buddha statues, sutras and murals. In addition, a large amount of Tibetan language books, including history is available for purchase, together with medicines, calendars, music and art objects.

The monastery today is an important place for Buddhist ceremonies and activities. From 4 to 17 January and 26 June to 15 July , the great Buddhist ceremony will be held with Buddha-unfolding, sutra enchanting, praying, sutra debates, etc.

The monks are extremely friendly to foreigners, and used every opportunity to practice their basic English which in most cases is self-taught. Accommodation is easy to find and a great variety of articles and souvenirs are available.

Labrang Monastery historically situated itself at the strategic intersection of four major Asian civilizations--Tibetan, Mongolian, Chinese, and Muslim--was one of the largest Buddhist monastic universities. In the early twentieth century, it housed several thousand monks. Labrang was also a gathering point for numerous annual religious festivals, supported an active regional marketplace where Chinese artisans rubbed shoulders with Hui merchants and nomadic Tibetan highlanders, and was the seat of a Tibetan power base that strove to maintain regional autonomy through the shifting alliances and bloody conflicts that took place between 1700 and 1950.

Recent Events

In March 2008 there were protests by monks from Labrang Monastary as well as by other ethnic Tibetans linked to previous protests and rioting that broke out in Lhasa.