Ganbao Tibetan Village

Chinese Name: 甘堡藏寨 (Gan Bao Zang Zhai)
Location: Ganbao Village, Ganbao Township, Lixian County, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province 
Ticket: Free
Estimated tour time: 1 hour
Recommended time to visit: All year round.
Nearby attractions: Miyaluo Scenic Spot, Taoping Qiang Village, Bipenggou Valley Scenic Spot, Dagu  Glacier, etc.

Ganbao Tibetan Village is located in the center of the Tibetan and Qiang cultural corridor from Lixian County to Barkam, 8 kilometers from the county seat of Lixian County. On the hillside across the river, there is a magnificent, huge stone castle-like stockade, standing at the foot of the snow-capped mountain, that is the ancient Ganbao Tibetan Village, with a long history of more than 2,000 years, still well preserved, unknown to the outside world.

It is the most complete and largest preserved Gyalrong Tibetan Village. In Tibetan language, it means a village on the slope. The whole village is strewn, row upon row, back against the rolling green hills, facing the Tuojiang River with magnificent beautiful scenery. In Ganbao Tibetan village, all you see is the wonder of stones.

The local dwellings and official dwellings of Ganbao Tibetan Village are all stone buildings, but they are different from those in Qiang and other Tibetan areas. It is located on a sloping land with no rocks for quarrying, therefore, the cobblestones and giant stones package in the Zagunao River are taken as materials.

In ancient times, the method of fire attack was commonly used to make the boulders burst and in modern times, the stone was broken into small pieces with iron casting tools, and cut into rectangular strips of stone which were used for building houses. Almost all the men in the village are masons. With experience and vision, they can make the stone walls flat, straight and angular.