Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, also known as Aba (; Qiang: ; ), is an autonomous prefecture of northwestern Sichuan, bordering Gansu to the north and northeast and Qinghai to the northwest. Its seat is in Barkam, and it has an area of . The population was 919,987 in late 2013.
The county of Wenchuan in Ngawa is the site of the epicenter of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, in which over 20,000 of its residents died and 40,000 were injured.
History and names
During the reign of Tibet's king Trisong Deutsen 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 (), 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.
In 2009, the town of Ngaba in Ngawa prefecture became the self-immolation capital of the world. From 2009 to 2019, more than 60 of Tibet's total 156 self-immolations occurred in Ngaba. By 2020, the town's entrances were barricaded and surveillance cameras installed, with some 50,000 security personnel for the town's population of 15,000.
In 2008, Aba county was stripped of its internet connections. Internet access in the prefecture remains severely restricted as of 2013.
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:
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 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 ( "Sku Mountain"; formerly , a transcription), the highest point of the Qionglai Mountains, on the border between Xiaojin County (; Tibetan: ) and Wenchuan County.
References
Further reading
A. Gruschke (2001) The Cultural Monuments of Tibet's Outer Provinces: Amdo - Volume 2. The Gansu and Sichuan Parts of Amdo. Bangkok: White Lotus Press Tsering Shakya (1999) The Dragon in the Land of Snows.: a history of modern Tibet since 1947, London: Pimlico, 1999,