Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.

Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture includes distinct landscapes and communities. Labrang Monastery and Sangke pasture are in Xiahe County; Zhagana’s farming and herding villages are in Diebu; Langmusi and the Bailong River source are in Luqu. Hezuo serves as the prefectural seat, with its own religious landmarks and nearby grasslands.

A Tibetan Buddhist monastery building at Labrang in Xiahe, with the surrounding mountain ridge behind it. — A monastery building at Labrang in Xiahe.

Stories

Labrang Monastery: Learning and devotion in Xiahe

At Labrang in Xiahe, a long prayer-wheel corridor encircles a major Gelug monastery. Colleges, assembly halls and neighbouring streets show how religious study shapes the town.

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Zhagana village sits below stone peaks. Photo credit: Liu Minjiang.

Zhagana: Four hamlets and a living mountain landscape

In Diebu County, Zhagana’s villages occupy a high mountain basin enclosed by steep rock. Farming, herding and forest use follow the slopes from valley floor to woodland.

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A Tibetan Buddhist monastery complex in Langmusi town, set below a wooded hillside.

Langmusi: A town and monastery on either bank

At Langmusi, a stream flowing east divides a Gansu monastery on its north bank from a Sichuan monastery on its south. The town belongs to both sides of the provincial boundary.

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A stream winding through the open grassland near Saichi in Sangke, Xiahe County.

Sangke Grassland: Pasture and river in Xiahe

Southwest of Xiahe, Sangke is a high meadow crossed by the Daxia River. Its scale, elevation and pastoral use define a landscape closely connected to the county around it.

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The tall red-and-white Milarepa Tower in Hezuo, viewed from below against a bright sky.

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

Hezuo is the seat of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Its civic landmarks include the Milarepa Buddha Pavilion, while nearby grasslands frame the city’s plateau setting.

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