Hezuo: Gannan’s prefectural seat and Milarepa’s pavilion

Hezuo is the administrative seat of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. A prefectural profile explains the name through a Tibetan phrase associated locally with a place where Tibetan antelope breed. The name story belongs to Hezuo’s local account of its own place-name. The city’s religious landmark has a separate history: the Milarepa Buddha Pavilion (米拉日巴佛阁) is named for the Tibetan Buddhist yogi Milarepa, whose images and disciples are central to its collection.

The prefecture’s city profile records Hezuo’s road distances to Lanzhou and Xiahe Airport, while a regional route places it between Xiahe and Luqu. These links give the city a connecting role within Gannan. Hezuo also has landmarks of its own: the local government describes the Milarepa Buddha Pavilion as a nine-storey structure combining Tibetan fortress and pavilion forms, with images of Milarepa and teachers from several Tibetan Buddhist schools.

Meiren and Dangzhou grasslands appear in Hezuo’s city profile alongside its urban landmarks. Their presence brings open highland ground into the city’s municipal geography. Public institutions, religious architecture and nearby pasture together shape the prefectural seat, linking its civic role with the plateau environment around it.