Friday, October 10, 2008

Yingxiu, Wenchuan County


It is at the epicentre and one of the single worst hit areas of the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake. 80% of the town was destroyed by the earthquake. The town was the first journalists were able to reach inside Wenchuan County.

Yading

Yading is a national level reserve in the southwest of Sichuan Province, China. Unknown to the outside world until the late 1990s, it is a mountain sanctuary and major pilgrimage site comprising three 6000m+ peaks sanctified by the Dalai Lama and seen as s of the three s , Jampayang and Chenadorje.

Travel information on and nearby town

Xuankou

Geography


Xuankou is located at . The total area of the jurisdiction is .

2008 Sichuan earthquake


Xuankou was one of the three most severely damaged areas of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

Xichang Satellite Launch Center

The Xichang Satellite Launch Center also known as ''Base 27''(二十七基地), is a space vehicle launch facility approximately 64 km northwest of Xichang City in Sichuan Province.

The facility became operational in 1984 and is primarily used to launch powerful thrust rockets and geostationary communications and weather satellites. It is notable as the site of Sino-European space cooperation, with the launch of the first of two scientific satellites in December 2003. Chinese officials have indicated interest in conducting additional international satellite launches from XSLC.

In 1996, a fatal accident occurred when the rocket carrying the Intelsat 708 satellite failed on launch from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. It is also believed that a of an anti-satellite missile occurred from the center.

History




China's first manned space program


In order to support the Chinese Project 714 manned space program in the 1960s, the construction of a new space center at Xichang in the Sichuan province was decided, located farther from the Soviet border, thus safer. The spacecraft was expected to be launched from the launch pad number one. After the cancellation of the program the launch pad was never completed. Today a viewing platform for officials has been built at the site.

First Long March-2E carrier rocket


China launched its first carrier rocket on July 16, 1990, sending into orbit Pakistan's first indigenously developed Badr-1 satellite and HS-601.

World's worst space accident


This occurred on February 15, 1996 when the first new Long March 3 B heavy carrier rocket carrying Intelsat 708 veered off course 22 seconds after launch, crashing 1850 meters away from the launch pad in a nearby mountain village and destroying 80 houses, according to the official count, and killing more than 500 civilians according to unofficial Chinese sources.

China's first successful ASAT test


China conducted on January 11, 2007 an anti-satellite missile test with a ASAT weapon.

A Chinese weather satellite — the FY-1C polar orbit satellite of the Fengyun series, at an altitude of 865 kilometres , with a mass of 750 kg — was destroyed by a kinetic kill vehicle.

The SC-19 have been described as being based on a modified DF-21 ballistic missile or its commercial derivative, the KT-2 with a and is fully mobile.

Beginning of China's lunar exploration program



On October 24, 2007, Chang'e 1, an Moon orbiter of the Chang'e program, was successfully launched from the facility, marking the beginning of China’s lunar exploration program.

First Long March-3C carrier rocket



China launched its first carrier rocket on April 25, 2008. This was the 105th mission of China's Long March series of rockets, and also the launch of the nation first data relay satellite Tianlian I .

Future of the center



With the completion of the upgrade of Wenchang Satellite Launch Center scheduled for 2013, all the GEO missions will be transferred to this new space center. Indeed, presenting too many inconvenients such as higher latitude, falling rocket stages on inhabited areas , limited transport infrastructures, the Xichang Satellite Launch Center should no longer be used for civilian duties. Nonetheless, it will not be closed but be kept to serve as a backup launch site.

Facilities


Launch pads


*As recently as 2008-06-09 the China Great Wall Industrial Corporation has used pad LA-2 at XSLC to launch a Long March 3B.
*The launch pad number 3 has specially been upgraded in order to support the lunar exploration program.

Technical Center


XSLC’s Technical Center is state of the art and is equipped for testing and integration of the payload and launch vehicle. Its Mission Command and Control Center is located 7 km southwest of the launch pad and provides flight and safety control during overall system rehearsal and launch. It is serviced by a dedicated railway and highway directly from Xichang Qingshan Airport, which is 50 kilometers away from the launch site. Two launch complexes at the facility support flight operations.

Wutongqiao District

Wutongqiao District is a town and in Sichuan, China. It is known for producing table salt, and is within the prefecture-level city of Leshan. It sits along the Min River.

Latitude: 29.3500, Longitude: 103.8500

Sichuan

Wanyuan

Wanyuan is a county-level city in the province of Sichuan, China. Shifang is its city seat. Wanyuan has more than 100.000 inhabitants.

Tagong

Tagong is a small Tibetan town in Sichuan Province, China.

Pictures taken in 2004:

Tagong travel information:

Politics of Sichuan

The politics of Sichuan Province in the People's Republic of China is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China.

The Governor of Sichuan is the highest ranking official in the People's Government of Sichuan. However, in the province's dual party-government governing system, the Governor has less power than the Sichuan Communist Party of China Provincial Committee Secretary, colloquially termed the "Sichuan CPC Party Chief".

List of the CPC Sichuan Committee Secretaries


#Li Jingquan : July 1952-February 1965
#Liao Zhigao : February 1965-1966
#Zhang Guohua : August 1971-February 1972
#Liu Xingyuan : March 1972-October 1975
#Zhao Ziyang : October 1975-March 1980
#Tan Qilong : March 1980-February 1983
#Yang Rudai : February 1983-April 1993
#Xie Shijie : April 1993-January 2000
#Zhou Yongkang : January 2000-December 2002
#Zhang Xuezhong : December 2002-2006
#Du Qinglin : December 2006-November 2007
#Liu Qibao : November 2007-incumbent

List of Governors of Sichuan


#Li Jingquan : September 1952-January 1955
#Li Dazhang : January 1955-1966
#Zhang Guohua : May 1968-February 1972
#Liu Xingyuan : March 1972-October 1975
#Zhao Ziyang: October 1975-December 1979
#Lu Dadong : December 1979-December 1982
#Yang Xizong : December 1982-May 1985
#Jiang Minkuan : May 1985-January 1988
#Zhang Gaoruo : January 1988-February 1993
# : February 1993-February 1996
#Song Baorui : February 1996-June 1999
#Zhang Zhongwei : June 1999-January 2007
#Jiang Jufeng : January 2007-incumbent

List of Chairmen of Sichuan People's Congress


#Du Xinyuan : 1979-1985
#He Haoju : 1985-1993
#Yang Xizong : 1993-1998
#Xie Shijie : 1998-2003
#Zhang Xuezhong : 2003-2007
#Du Qinglin : 2007
#Liu Qibao : January 27, 2008 - incumbent

List of the Chairmen of CPPCC Sichuan Committee


#Li Jingquan : 1955-1965
#Liao Zhigao : 1965-1967
#Du Xinyuan : 1977-1979
#Ren Baige : 1979-1983
#Yang Chao : 1983-1985
#Feng Yuanwei : 1985-1988
#Liao Bokang : 1988-1993
#Nie Ronggui : 1993-2002
#Qin Yuqin : 2002-incumbent

Music of Sichuan

Sichuan is a province of China which has a long history of both and . Sichuan opera is an ancient tradition that is well-known across China, while the folk-based Sichuan lantern drama is popular in the region. The Sichuan Conservatory of Music in Chengdu is one of the older establishments of musical education in China, having been established in 1939. It is the only such institution in southwest China.

There is deeply religious music in Sichuan, played by priests in their temples. Married lay priests have their own kinds of music, performed at various rituals.

Folk ensembles may include instruments like the bamboo flute, pan and cymbals, gong and .

Luzhou Laojiao

Luzhou Laojiao is a kind of famous liquor in China. It is strongly alcoholic but clear liquid with carbon dioxide bubbles and sharp aroma of fermented peaches. It was founded in Ming Dynasty and it is one of the oldest Chinese liquors still in production.

Luzhou Laojiao is now uniquelly produced by Luzhou Laojiao Company Limited , headquartered in Luzhou, Sichuan. It is considered to be one of the best beverages in Sichuan and the other two are Mianzhu daqu and Wuliangye.

Link


*

Reference

Litang Town

Litang Town is the administrative centre of Litang County in the southwest of the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province of .

The county in 2001 had a population of 47,500. Several famous figures were born here, including the Kelzang Gyatso, the 7th Dalai Lama, Tsultrim Gyatso, the 10th Dalai Lama, four of the Pabalas, and has strong connections with the epic hero Gesar of Ling, as well as the 5th Jamyang Xaiba of Labrang.


Litang Town is located at an altitude of 4,014 metres among open grasslands and surrounded by snow-capped mountains. Its actual altitude is about 400 metres higher than Lhasa, making it one of the highest towns in the world . The town itself is centred just to the south of the Ganden Thubchen Choekhorling or Litang Ch?de Monastery.

The monastery was built by Sonam Gyatso , the 3rd Dalai Lama in 1580 after the king of Lithang, who ruled the region as defacto independent ruler, switched allegiance from the Kagyupa to the Gelugpa, while they were still warring with each other.

During the 1950s the region around Litang was one of the main areas of Tibetan armed resistance to the Chinese occupation. A resistance group called "" was active in the area. In 1956 the monastery was bombed by the Chinese People's Liberation Army.




There are hot springs just 4 km from the centre of town on the western outskirts.

In August, 2007, a horse-racing festival at Litang was the scene of an impromptu anti-government political speech by Runggye Adak, which was followed by protests calling for his release including 200 people who went to the police station but were allowed to leave unharmed. A crackdown officially described as "patriotic education campaign" followed in autumn of 2007, including several politically motivated arrests and attempts to force local Tibetans to denounce the .

Litang Horse Festival

The Litang Horse Festival is a summer horse festival held in the village of in Sichuan province in China. Khampas from all over southern China and Tibet come to trade, celebrate and ride. Khampas are nomads that are Tibetan and are usually herders. The festival is held generally the first week in August, and it usually runs from August 1 to August 7. During the festival horsemanship and horse races are held upon the . These small and fast horses are raced and shown to see who owns the best horse. The horse festival is significant because it helps to establish socio-economic hierarchy in Khampas who participate. A lot of honor and prestige is placed on who owns the best horse. A very large tourism business has been built up on adventure trips and tours provided by companies who cater to individuals who are interested in horses and horsemanship. These companies travel around Southern China and Tibet taking groups of tourists throughout the different villages hosting horse festivals. This benefits the nomads' economy as well as the rest of China's economy.

List of prisons in Sichuan

This is a list of prisons within Sichuan province of the People's Republic of China.

* Abazhou Prison
* Bazhong Prison
* Chuanbei Prison
* Chuandong Prison
* Chuannan Prison
* Chuanxi Prison
* Chuanzhong Prison
* Dachuan Prison
* Dawei Prison
* Ebian Prison
* Gongya Prison
* Guangyuan Prison
* Deyang Prison
* Ganzi Prison
* Huaying Prison
* Huili Prison
* Jinjiang Prison
* Jintang Prison
* Kaijiang Prison
* Liangshan Prison
* Luzhou Prison
* Meishan Prison
* Mianyang Prison
* Nanchong Prison
* Nanxi Prison
* Panxi Prison
* Peng'an Prison
* Penshan Prison
* Pingwu Prison
* Provincial Women's Prison
* Suining Prison
* Wanjia Prison
* Wumaping Prison
* Xindu Prison
* Xinyuan Prison
* Ya'an Prison
* Yibin Prison
* Zhongjiang Prison
* Zigong Prison

Online Version of the Source




[[Category:Prisons in China

List of laojiaos in Sichuan

This is a list of laojiaos within Sichuan province of the People's Republic of China.
A laojiao is a labor camp.

*Dayan RTL
*Dukou RTL
*Kangding RTL
*Luzhou RTL
*Mianyang Xinhua RTL
*Nanchong RTL
*Nanmusi Women's RTL
*Panzhihua RTL
*Provincial Women's RTL
*Shaping RTL
*Xichang Tuohang RTL
*Xinhua RTL
*Yangmahe RTL
*Zigong City RTL

Online Version of the Source

List of administrative divisions of Sichuan

Sichuan, a of the People's Republic of China, is made up of the following :

* 21 prefecture-level divisions
** 17 prefecture-level cities
** 1 sub-provincial city
** 3 autonomous prefectures
* 181 county-level divisions
** 14 county-level cities
** 120
** 4
** 43 s
* 4782 township-level divisions
** 1865 s
** 2586 s
** 93 ethnic townships
** 238 subdistricts

These administrative divisions are explained in greater detail at Political divisions of China. The following table lists only the prefecture-level and county-level divisions of Sichuan.

Kangding Qingge

"Kangding Qingge" is a traditional folk song of Kangding, Sichuan Province, that has become popular across China.



Lyrics in Chinese:

跑 马 溜 溜 的 山 上 , 一 朵 溜 溜 的 云 哟 ,

端 端 溜 溜 的 照 在 , 康 定 溜 溜 的 城 哟 ,

月 亮 弯 弯 , 康 定 溜 溜 的 城 哟 。

李 家 溜 溜 的 大 姐 , 人 才 溜 溜 的 好 哟 ,

张 家 溜 溜 的 大 哥 , 看 上 溜 溜 的 她 哟 ,

月 亮 弯 弯 , 看 上 溜 溜 的 她 哟 。

一 来 溜 溜 的 看 上 , 人 才 溜 溜 的 好 哟 ,

二 来 溜 溜 的 看 上 , 会 当 溜 溜 的 家 哟 ,

月 亮 弯 弯 , 会 当 溜 溜 的 家 哟 。

世 间 溜 溜 的 女 子 , 任 你 溜 溜 的 爱 哟 ,

世 间 溜 溜 的 男 子 , 任 你 溜 溜 的 求 哟 ,

月 亮 弯 弯 , 任 你 溜 溜 的 求 哟 。

Eight Immortals from Sichuan

Eight Immortals from Sichuan are eight Sichuanese who supposedly became '''' . The term is first used by Qiao Xiu in ''Record of '' written in .

They are:

* Fan Changsheng ,
* Dong Zhongshu ,
* Li Babai ,
* Li Er ,
* Master Erzhu ,
* Mister Rongcheng ,
* Zhang Daoling , and
* Zhuang Junping .

Diexi, Mao County

The old town of Diexi was totally destroyed in the 1933 Diexi earthquake and sank into Diexi Lake.

Dengsheng

Dengsheng , approximately 62 miles southwest of Wenchuan county seat, , approximately 47 miles WSW of Dujiangyan City, approximately 122 miles southwest of Beichuan County and approximately 128 miles WSW of Mianyang.

History


On May 12, 2008, the epicenter of the 6-mile-deep, 7.9 earthquake was approx. 29 miles northwest of Dengsheng.

Climate


Dengsheng is foggy. Dengsheng has one of the lowest sunshine totals in China , and most days are cloudy even if without rain. This is especially so in the winter months, when it is typically interminably grey and dreary. Spring tends to be sunnier, warmer and drier than autumn . The summers and winters are mild.

Geography


Dengsheng is situated at the western edge of the Sichuan Basin.

Batang Town

Batang Town , or Xiaqiong Town , is a in Batang County, Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, in the on the main route between Chengdu and Lhasa, Tibet, and just east of the River, or Upper Yangtse River. It is at an elevation of 2,700 metres .

Descriptions, Geography and Products


Mr. A. Hosie, the British Consul at Chengdu, described the town as he found it on his trip there in September, 1904:

:"The first house that one meets is a white lamasery of no great size; but, rounding the corner of the elbow, we enter, a few yards beyond, the brown-mud and stone-built town of Batang, which lies on the right bank of the stream we had followed down the valley from Hsiao-pa-chung . Batang consists of about 400 Tibetan houses, with 500 families, only 70 to 80 of which are Chinese. The population, not including the occupants of the fine lamasery , amounts to about 2,000. The industries of the town are the manufacture of black leather and a kind of very inferior tasteless beer from barley."

William Mesny described Batang in 1905 as:

:"the old Tibetan town of M'Bah. The name is derived from the bleating of a sheep, but called by the Chinese Pa-t'ang. It is sixteen days' journey from ''Ta-ch'ien-lu'', eight from ''Li-t'ang'', eight from A-tun-tzü on the Yün-nan frontier and forty-five from Lhassa. All traffic between China and Tibet passes here. The temperature is milder than at Li-t'ang or Ta-ch'ien-lu. The population is estimated at 300 families only of Tibetans and half castes. There are two hereditary chiefs who, however, declare themselves descendants of Yün-nan chiefs, with the title of Wang 王, King or Prince."

The name is a transliteration from Tibetan meaning a vast grassland where sheep can be heard everywhere .

According to one source the name in is 八搪, Pinyin: Bātáng, but, according to the ''The Contemporary Atlas of China'' , it should be written 巴搪, which also is rendered ''Bātáng'' in Pinyin. It is alternatively known as Xiaqiong.

:'The plain of Batang, which runs east and west, is some 2? miles in length, with a breadth of from three-quarters of a mile to a mile . In the high mountains surrounding it there are three openings—the valley of the Hsiao-pa-chung River to the south-east by which we entered , and two valleys to the north-east and south-west by which the Batang River obtains ingress and egress. Three roads lead along these valleys—to Litang, to the State of Dergé, whose frontier is a couple of days' march distant, and to Tibet and Yunnan respectively."

It is warmer here than most of Tibet and is reported to be a friendly, easy-going place, surrounded by barley fields. The plain surrounding the town is unusually fertile and produces two harvests a year. The main products include: rice, maize, barley, wheat, peas, cabbages, turnips, onions, grapes, pomegranates, peaches, apricots, water melons and honey. There are also cinnabar mines from which mercury is extracted.

The Abbé Desgodins, who was on a mission to Tibet from 1855 to 1870, wrote: "gold dust is found in all the rivers and even the streams of eastern Tibet". He says that in the town of Bathan or Batan, with which he was personally acquainted, there were about 20 people regularly involved in washing for gold in spite of the severe laws against it.

Ch?de Gaden Pendeling Monastery


In the southwest of the town is the large Gelugpa Ch?de Gaden Pendeling Monastery which now has some 500 monks. Colourful ''cham'' dances are held outside the town each year on the 26th of the ninth Tibetan month.

:'The Batang lamasery, which stands in the west of the plain near the left bank of the Batang River just above its junction with the small river, is a very large and imposing group of buildings surrounded by a high white wall encircled by a row of cypress and willow trees. It has two golden roofs and numerous pinnacles, like the monastery at Litang. It accommodates lamas or priests; variously estimated to number from 1,300 to 1,700, but it must not be supposed that this number is always resident, for lamas have the privilege of coming and going and apparently living as they please. I was here the spectator of a performance somewhat similar to that given at Ta-chien-lu. The scene was the grassy right bank of the Batang River below its junction with the small river, to reach which the former had to be crossed by a wooden bridge near the lamasery. Here tents were pitched in the form of a square, with an audience of lamas on two sides, while the other two sides were given up to the lama performers and the spectators from the town respectively. Round the square were smaller tents pitched by the well-to-do, and kitchens were hard at work cooking for their inmates. We strolled through the different booths, and created no little excitement."

History and Strategic importance


Batang was visited in the 1840s by two French priests, Abbé ?variste Régis Huc and Abbé Joseph Gabet and a young Tibetan priest, who had been sent on a mission to Tibet and China by the Pope. They described it as a large, very populous and wealthy town.

It marked the furthest point of Tibetan rule on the route to Chengdu:

:"The temporal power of the Supreme Lama ends at Bathang. The frontiers of Tibet, properly so called, were fixed in 1726, on the termination of a great war between the Tibetans and the Chinese. Two days before you arrive at Bathang, you pass, on the top of a mountain, a stone monument, showing what was arranged at that time between the government of Lha-Ssa and that of Peking, on the subject of boundaries. At present, the countries situate east of Bathang are independent of Lha-Ssa in temporal matters. They are governed by a sort of feudal princes, originally appointed by the Chinese Emperor, and still acknowledging his paramount authority. These petty sovereigns are bound to go every third year to Peking, to offer their tribute to the Emperor."

Spencer Chapman gives a similar, but more detailed, account of this border agreement:

:"In 1727, as a result of the Chinese having entered Lhasa, the boundary between China and Tibet was laid down as between the head-waters of the Mekong and Yangtse rivers, and marked by a pillar, a little to the south-west of Batang. Land to the west of this pillar was administered from Lhasa, while the Tibetan chiefs of the tribes to the east came more directly under China. This historical Sino-Tibetan boundary was used until 1910. The states Der-ge, Nyarong, Batang, Litang, and the five Hor States—to name the more important districts—are known collectively in Lhasa as Kham, an indefinite term suitable to the Tibetan Government, who are disconcertingly vague over such details as treaties and boundaries."

Mr. A. Hosie, the British Consul at Chengdu, made a quick trip from Batang to the Tibetan border escorted by Chinese authorities, in September 1904, on the promise that he would not even put a foot over the border into Tibet. He describes the border marker as being a 3? day journey to the south and slightly west of Batang. It was a "well-worn, four-sided pillar of sandstone, about 3 feet in height, each side measuring some 18 inches. There was no inscription on the stone, and when unthinkingly I made a movement to look for writing on the Tibetan side, the Chinese officials at once stepped in front of me and barred the road to Tibet. Looking into Tibet the eye met a sea of grass-covered treeless hills. and from the valley at the foot of the Ningching Shan rose smoke from the camp fires of 400 Tibetan troops charged with the protection of the frontier. There was no time to make any prolonged inspection, for the Chinese authorities were anxious for me to leave as soon as possible."

The town was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1868 or 1869. Mr. Hosie, on the other hand, dates this earthquake to 1871.

In 1904 the States of Chala, Litang and Batang were "administered by native chiefs under the superintendence of the Chinese Commissaries at Ta-chien-lu, Litang, and Batang respectively." In Batang there were two chiefs and several "Shelngo" who occupy "the same position as the head of 100 families in the State of Chala." The Tibetans were under the control of their chiefs while the Chinese were dealt solely by their own authorities, or in cases where member of both communities are involved, cases are dealt with by the authorities of the nationality of the plaintiff.

The Qing government sent an imperial official to the region to begin reasserting Qing control soon after the invasion of Tibet under Francis Younghusband in 1904, which alarmed the Manchu Qing rulers in China, but the locals revolted and killed him. The Qing government in Beijing then appointed Zhao Erfang, the Governor of Xining, "Army Commander of Tibet" to reintegrate Tibet into China. He was sent in 1905 on a punitive expedition and began destroying many monasteries in Kham and Amdo and implementing a process of sinification of the region:

:"He abolished the powers of the Tibetan local leaders and appointed Chinese magistrates in their places. He introduced new laws that limited the number of lamas and deprived monasteries of their temporal power and inaugurated schemes for having the land cultivated by Chinese immigrants.
:Zhao's methods in eastern Tibet uncannily prefigured the Communist policies nearly half a century later. They were aimed at the extermination of the Tibetan clergy, the assimilation of territory and repopulation of the Tibetan plateaus with poor peasants from Sichuan. Like the later Chinese conquerors, Zhao's men looted and destroyed Tibetan monasteries, melted down religious images and tore up sacred texts to use to line the soles of their boots and, as the Communists were also to do later, Zhao Erfang worked out a comprehensive scheme for the redevelopment of Tibet that covered military training reclamation work, secular education, trade and administration."

Mesny reports in May 1905 that there was a Chinese Dongzhi 'Prefect', and a Dusi or 'Major' with a local rank of Dongling = 'Commandant' or 'Brigadier General', stationed in the town with authority over the two local chiefs, who were referred to as Yingguan or 'Regimental Officers'. The main chief had at least 200 mounted and 600 foot soldiers.

In February 1910 Zhao Erfang invaded Lhasa to begin a process of reforms intended to break the control of the religious hierarchy. This invasion led to the Dalai Lama fleeing to India. The situation was soon to change, however, as, after the fall of the Qing dynasty in October 1911, Zhao's soldiers mutinied and beheaded him.

In 1932 the Sichuan war-lord, Liu Wenhui , drove the Tibetans back to the Yangtze River and even threatened to attack Chamdo. At Batang, Kesang Tsering, a half-Tibetan, claiming to be acting on behalf of Chiang Kai-shek , managed to evict Liu Wen-hui's governor from the town with the support of some local tribes. A powerful "freebooter Lama" from the region gained support from the Tibetan forces and occupied Batang, but later had to withdraw. By August 1932 the Tibetan government had lost so much territory the Dalai Lama telegraphed the Government of India asking for diplomatic assistance. By early 1934 a ceasefire and armistices had been arranged with Liu Wen-hui and Governor Ma of Chinghai in which the Tibetans gave up all territory to the east of the Yangtze but kept control of the Yaklo district which had previously been a Chinese enclave to the west of the river.

Barkam (town)

Barkam is the capital of Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture and the county seat of Barkam County, Sichuan, China.