A brief introduction of Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture

Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture of Qinghai Province in China. It is also located in the first bend of the Yellow River with nine bends. Huangnan is named so because it lies in the south of the Yellow River. Huangnan prefecture enjoys long history of national religion and culture. It has rich ethnic folklore and abundant resources of humanistic tourism.

The prefecture has area of 17,921 km². The prefecture is subdivided into 5 county-level divisions: Tongren, Jianzha, Zeku and Henan Mongol Autonomous County . Its seat is located at Longwu Town, Tongren County, which is 181 kilometers away from Xining, the capital city of Qinghai.

Before the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-24AD) conquered it in 61BC, Huangnan region was inhabited by the Qiang people, an ancient tribe in western China. One year after the subjection, Heguan County was established there. It was once the domain of Tubo regime in Tibet during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture was established in 1955.

Huangnan lies in the plateau area in southern Qinghai. With the Maixiu Mountain in the center as a limit, the south region of Huangnan is simple and haploid in geology. The terrain slopes gently to the north and the east and there are vast grassland distributed, while the northern part is precipitous with many high mountains, gorges and mesas between mountains.

Huangnan is abundant in natural resources and historical heritage, Which makes this land one of a tourism places in Qinghai. The most famous attraction is the Kampula National Forest Park, which features by its unique and gorgeous mountain scenery, caves, beautiful lakes and steep Cliffs. Other places include Longwu Monastery, Rishi Inscription Wall, Sacred Lake and Fairy Hole and some other natural scenic spots. Huangnan is a prefecture worthy of a tour in Qinghai Province. If you are going to travel in Qinghai, savoring the natural wonders and local custom in Huangnan will surely add great fun to your tour.

● Main cities of Huangnan

Tongren County

Tongren sits on the edge of the Tibetan plateau ,181 kilometers from the city of Xining, capital of Qinghai Province, Tongren Prefecture has a population of 80,000 and covers an area of 3,275 square meters.

This region was historically known to its nomadic inhabitants as Amdo. The towns origins stretch back several hundred years when it emerged around the establishment of the Longwu Monastery.

Tongren Old Town is the one of the oldest and best-preserved ancient towns in Qinghai Province. Over six ethnic groups, including Han , Hui, Tibet, Sala, Dongxiang and Bao live in the old town. Buildings in the old town are simple in style and they were constructed according to the rise and fall of the terrain, which forms a tiered building complex. Three temples: Longwu Temple, Yuantong Temple, and the Mosque, which represent Tibetan Buddhism, Han Buddhism and Muslim, are located on the same street. Their harmonious coexistence goes a long way towards proving the blending and unification of different ethnic groups and cultures can be successful, which constitutes a very rare geo-cultural phenomenon.

Tongren is the birth place of the Regong art. Each year, in the sixth month according to the Tibetan calendar, the Tibetan, Tu and Mongolian ethnic groups from the surrounding villages will gather in Tongren for the June Singing and Dancing Festival, which is referred to as "Zhou lei Bei Rou" by the local dialect.  In the event, a lot of cultural activities are presented.

Famous for thangkas and painted statues, the Regong Art has attracted visitors from all over the world.

The monasteries are noted producers of Tibetan art. The beautiful thangkas — Buddhist paintings — produced here are among the most famous in the world.  It is the art of painting, sewing, firing a religious image on a support in general of fabric. This work must then be consecrated by a lama.

The city itself is a large village, mainly Tibetan, where the vast Longwusi monastery dating from the Yuan (13th and 14th century) is located.In the surroundings you can also visit the Wutunsi Monastery which features several halls dedicated to the deities and a superb stupas decorated with multiple colorful statues.

Jianzha County

Jianzha County  is a county in Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province, China, to Tibetans in the area known as Malho Prefecture, part of Amdo.

The most famous attraction is the Kampula National Forest Park, which is also a geo park famous for 18 peculiar peaks and natural scenic spots. At an elevation of 2,000 to 3,000 m, it is located in the joint of Qinghai Tibetan Plateau and Loess Plateau and is feature by its unique and gorgeous mountain scenery, caves, beautiful lakes and steep Cliffs.

Jianzha County has deep religious culture and is the birthplace of Tibetan Buddhism.  Nanzong Monastery, Nan Monastery and Nanzongza Monastery are important tourist attractions in Qinghai after Ta'er Monastery and Qinghai Lake. 

Monlam Prayer Festival

The Monlam Prayer Festival holds in many Tibetan monasteries across Tibetan Plateau, but the Rebkong or Tongren county in Qinghai Province and Labrang or Xiahe in Gansu Proince in the Amdo region of Tibet are the two most most famous Molam Festival among all.

The Monlam prayer festival is actually almost a two week event. The festival starts on the fourth day of the Tibetan calendar and ends of the fifteenth day that is the day called the Butter Lamp Festival (Choe-nga Choepa) that is the greatest and last day of the Monlam Festival. So one long festival season that lasts for fifteen days starts on the 1st day of the Tibetan year that is the Tibetan New Year Festival called Losar and ends on the 15th day on the night of the full moon called the Butter Lamp Festival. During the Monlam Festival, Buddhists pray and commemorate the miracles Buddha did about 2,500 years ago in India.

Monlam means “wish-path” – the Buddhist path of helping others through the prayers. The Monlam Chenmo commemorates the Buddha’s enlightenment or fully awakening from ignorance. All the prayers are being sent to sentient beings in six realms (human realm, animal realm, hungry ghosts realms, hell real, demi-god realm, and god realm).

Monlam Chenmo was established in 1409 by lama Tsongkhapa, the great philosopher and founder of Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The first festival was held in Jokhang in Lhasa, where thousands of monks gathered together for chanting prayers and performing religious rituals, such as Buddhist dances (cham), torma offering, giant thangka unveiling, etc.