Gyêgu
Encyclopedia
Gyêgu is the modern town
which developed from the old Tibet
an trade mart called Jyekundo (skye dgu mdo, skye rgu mdo) in Tibetan and most Western sources. It is the heart of both Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Yushu County. The present name Gyêgu is derived from Jyekundo. The town is most commonly called by the name of the prefecture or county, Yushu, of which it is the administrative seat.
designation skye dgu mdo indicates that it is a place where one valley opens into another one (mdo), here formed by two tributaries of the Jyegu river, Dza Chu (rdza chu) and Pel Chu (dpal chu). Since skye dgu also means men, mankind or all beings, the name could be interpreted as the ‘dwelling place of men at a valley junction’.
Chinese maps show the "main" river flowing through the town (coming from the south, and then turning to the east, toward the Tongtian River
(Dri Chu), after taking on a tributary in Gyêgu) as the Batang River (巴塘河).
- a good, mostly metalled road leading all the way from Xining
(820 km), the provincial capital, via the Sun and Moon Pass, Gonghe
-Chabcha of Hainan prefecture and Madoi in Golog
across the Bayankara Mountains. 25 km before arriving at Gyêgu, the Dri Chu (Yangtse river) is crossed.
In 2007 the construction of an airstrip was begun. The facility, named Yushu Batang Airport
, was opened on August 1, 2009. Located 18 kilometers to the south of the town at the 3,890 meters elevation about the sea level, this the highest airport in Qinghai Province.
The airport has a 3,800 meter-long runway, and can receive A319 aircraft. The passenger terminal is designed to serve up to 80,000 passengers per year.
The official 2009 statistics show that the airport served 7,484 passengers during 2009, the first (incomplete) year of its operation.
Given the fact that almost the entire area of the Yushu region is a realm of nomadic pastoralists, Gyêgu is one of the few places in this part of the vast Tibetan highlands where permanent settlement proved to provide a livelihood for Tibetan farmers and traders. Here, at an elevation of 3,700 m above sea level, peasants grow barley on riverside fields.
The significance of Gyêgu developed from its being an old trade hub, situated at the crossroads of important trade routes between Ya'an
(formerly Yazhou) in China
’s Sichuan
province and Xining in Amdo
’s heartland, as well as between Xining and Lhasa
.
In 1893 W.W. Rockhill stressed the strategic and commercial importance of the town:
At that time, from one of the main tea trade centres in China’s southwest, Ya'an in Sichuan, some 90,000 loads of tea bricks were carried annually to Gyêgu. More than half of those, 50,000 loads, continued to be transported to Lhasa and the Tibet Autonomous Region
(TAR). The better qualities of tea were ordinarily taken on this Janglam, i.e. the northern route of the China trade route to Lhasa leading from Kangding
via Dawu and Kardse to Gyêgu.
The caravans doing trade here were led by well-dressed and well-mounted merchants. In the early 20th century, when trade was at its peak in Gyêgu, the town had a native population of about 100 Tibetan families—400 persons—plus 300 to 400 monks in Döndrub Ling monastery.
The population doubled periodically with the advent of several hundred Han and Hui
merchants from the TAR and Sichuan, with some Mongols from China's northwestern provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu.
Gyêgu, like most parts of Yushu prefecture, is rich in Buddhist monasteries. Being a constituent of the late Nangchen kingdom, the area was, for most of the time, not under domination by the Dalai Lama
’s Gelugpa order in Lhasa. The different balance of power in this part of Kham enabled the older Tibetan Buddhist orders to prevail in Yushu, and thus Gyêgu.
The main lamasery in town is the Sakyapa monastery Doendrub Ling, commonly just called Yushu Gompa. Like at the beginning of the 20th century
Other nearby monastic sites include the important Karma-Kagyupa lamaseries Domkar Gompa and Thrangu Gompa, the famous Mahavairocana Temple (often called Wencheng Temple) and the popular religious site of Gyanamani with its billions of mani stones.
Prior to collectivization in 1958, the entire monastic population of present-day Yushu TAP amounted to more than 25,000 Buddhist monks and nuns, with approximately 300 incarnate lamas among them. On the average about three to five per cent of the population were monastic, with a strikingly higher share in Nangqên county, where monks and nuns made up between 12 and 20 % of the community.
Gyêgu Tibetan Khampa Festival
Since many different kinds of goods for trade and barter were brought in from all directions, the town became the residence of many of the richest families in the entire Tibetan highland. This wealth was and is demonstrated on two major occasions: the Tibetan New Year Festival and Gyêgu Horse Festival. The Horse Festival starts on each 25 July and lasts for several days. During the festival the colorful appliqué tents so typical for Tibetan summer outings cover the grasslands of the Bathang plain or the horse race grounds in the west of the town, with Khampas from all over Yushu prefecture, and even farther, showing off in between time and watching picturesque folk dances.
struck Gyêgu on April 14. Gyêgu was reported to be the worst hit town, and most of the buildings were wrecked.
Town (China)
When referring to political divisions of China, town is the standard English translation of the Chinese 鎮 . It is a fourth-level administrative unit, i.e...
which developed from the old Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
an trade mart called Jyekundo (skye dgu mdo, skye rgu mdo) in Tibetan and most Western sources. It is the heart of both Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Yushu County. The present name Gyêgu is derived from Jyekundo. The town is most commonly called by the name of the prefecture or county, Yushu, of which it is the administrative seat.
Name
The TibetanTibetan language
The Tibetan languages are a cluster of mutually-unintelligible Tibeto-Burman languages spoken primarily by Tibetan peoples who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering the Indian subcontinent, including the Tibetan Plateau and the northern Indian subcontinent in Baltistan, Ladakh,...
designation skye dgu mdo indicates that it is a place where one valley opens into another one (mdo), here formed by two tributaries of the Jyegu river, Dza Chu (rdza chu) and Pel Chu (dpal chu). Since skye dgu also means men, mankind or all beings, the name could be interpreted as the ‘dwelling place of men at a valley junction’.
Chinese maps show the "main" river flowing through the town (coming from the south, and then turning to the east, toward the Tongtian River
Tongtian River
The Tongtian River is a section of the Yangtze River within China's Qinghai Province. . It is one of the...
(Dri Chu), after taking on a tributary in Gyêgu) as the Batang River (巴塘河).
Geographical situation
The town is reached by a two day car ride on China National Highway 214China National Highway 214
China National Highway 214 runs from Xining, Qinghai to Jinghong, Yunnan. It is 3,256 kilometres in length and runs south from Xining towards Tibet, and ends in Yunnan Province.-Route and distance:-External links:*...
- a good, mostly metalled road leading all the way from Xining
Xining
Xining is the capital of Qinghai province, People's Republic of China, and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. It has 2,208,708 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 1,198,304 live in the built up area made of 4 urban districts.-History:...
(820 km), the provincial capital, via the Sun and Moon Pass, Gonghe
Gonghe
The Gonghe Regency ruled China from 841 BC to 828 BC after King Li of Zhou was exiled by his nobles....
-Chabcha of Hainan prefecture and Madoi in Golog
Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture of Qinghai province in China. The prefecture has an area of 76,312 km² and its capital is Maqên County.-Geography:...
across the Bayankara Mountains. 25 km before arriving at Gyêgu, the Dri Chu (Yangtse river) is crossed.
In 2007 the construction of an airstrip was begun. The facility, named Yushu Batang Airport
Yushu Batang Airport
The Yushu Batang Airport is the airport serving Yushu County in Qinghai Province, China. It is located 18 kilometers to the south of the county seat, Gyêgu, at the 3,890 meters elevation about the sea level, which makes it the highest civilian airport in Qinghai Province, and the third highest...
, was opened on August 1, 2009. Located 18 kilometers to the south of the town at the 3,890 meters elevation about the sea level, this the highest airport in Qinghai Province.
The airport has a 3,800 meter-long runway, and can receive A319 aircraft. The passenger terminal is designed to serve up to 80,000 passengers per year.
The official 2009 statistics show that the airport served 7,484 passengers during 2009, the first (incomplete) year of its operation.
Given the fact that almost the entire area of the Yushu region is a realm of nomadic pastoralists, Gyêgu is one of the few places in this part of the vast Tibetan highlands where permanent settlement proved to provide a livelihood for Tibetan farmers and traders. Here, at an elevation of 3,700 m above sea level, peasants grow barley on riverside fields.
Significance as major trade mart
Ya'an
Ya'an is a prefecture-level city in the western part of Sichuan province of Southwest China, located just below the Tibetan Plateau.-History:...
(formerly Yazhou) in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
’s Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
province and Xining in Amdo
Amdo
Amdo is one of the three traditional regions of Tibet, the other two being Ü-Tsang and Kham; it is also the birth place of the 14th Dalai Lama. Amdo encompasses a large area from the Machu River to the Drichu river . While culturally and ethnically a Tibetan area, Amdo has been administered by a...
’s heartland, as well as between Xining and Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
.
In 1893 W.W. Rockhill stressed the strategic and commercial importance of the town:
- ...fairly good roads (for Tibet) radiate from it all over the country.[2] Commercially considered it is a distributing point for the Chinese trade in the northeastern part of K’amdo, and is the only town in that region where Chinese merchants are allowed to reside. (...)
- The most important road starting from this point is that leading to Ta-chien-lu in Ssû-ch’uan, which I followed. Another leads across the steppes on the west to Nag ch’u-k’a, where it meets the ‘northern route’ (chang lam) from Hsi-ning, and thence reaches Lh’asa in nine days. Another leads to Ch’amdo, in about ten days. Still another passes by Tumbumdo and Tendo, and going through the Golok country comes to Sung-p’an t’ing in northwestern Ssû-ch’uan. The capital of Dérgé is reached from Jyékundo in six days, and from that town Bat’ang is only eight days farther south.
At that time, from one of the main tea trade centres in China’s southwest, Ya'an in Sichuan, some 90,000 loads of tea bricks were carried annually to Gyêgu. More than half of those, 50,000 loads, continued to be transported to Lhasa and the Tibet Autonomous Region
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region , Tibet or Xizang for short, also called the Xizang Autonomous Region is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China , created in 1965....
(TAR). The better qualities of tea were ordinarily taken on this Janglam, i.e. the northern route of the China trade route to Lhasa leading from Kangding
Kangding
Kangding or Dardo is the name of a county in Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in western Sichuan Province, China. It is administrated at the city of Kangding...
via Dawu and Kardse to Gyêgu.
The caravans doing trade here were led by well-dressed and well-mounted merchants. In the early 20th century, when trade was at its peak in Gyêgu, the town had a native population of about 100 Tibetan families—400 persons—plus 300 to 400 monks in Döndrub Ling monastery.
The population doubled periodically with the advent of several hundred Han and Hui
Hui people
The Hui people are an ethnic group in China, defined as Chinese speaking people descended from foreign Muslims. They are typically distinguished by their practice of Islam, however some also practice other religions, and many are direct descendants of Silk Road travelers.In modern People's...
merchants from the TAR and Sichuan, with some Mongols from China's northwestern provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu.
History and Traditional Culture
MonasticismGyêgu, like most parts of Yushu prefecture, is rich in Buddhist monasteries. Being a constituent of the late Nangchen kingdom, the area was, for most of the time, not under domination by the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
’s Gelugpa order in Lhasa. The different balance of power in this part of Kham enabled the older Tibetan Buddhist orders to prevail in Yushu, and thus Gyêgu.
The main lamasery in town is the Sakyapa monastery Doendrub Ling, commonly just called Yushu Gompa. Like at the beginning of the 20th century
Other nearby monastic sites include the important Karma-Kagyupa lamaseries Domkar Gompa and Thrangu Gompa, the famous Mahavairocana Temple (often called Wencheng Temple) and the popular religious site of Gyanamani with its billions of mani stones.
Prior to collectivization in 1958, the entire monastic population of present-day Yushu TAP amounted to more than 25,000 Buddhist monks and nuns, with approximately 300 incarnate lamas among them. On the average about three to five per cent of the population were monastic, with a strikingly higher share in Nangqên county, where monks and nuns made up between 12 and 20 % of the community.
Gyêgu Tibetan Khampa Festival
Since many different kinds of goods for trade and barter were brought in from all directions, the town became the residence of many of the richest families in the entire Tibetan highland. This wealth was and is demonstrated on two major occasions: the Tibetan New Year Festival and Gyêgu Horse Festival. The Horse Festival starts on each 25 July and lasts for several days. During the festival the colorful appliqué tents so typical for Tibetan summer outings cover the grasslands of the Bathang plain or the horse race grounds in the west of the town, with Khampas from all over Yushu prefecture, and even farther, showing off in between time and watching picturesque folk dances.
2010 earthquake
The 2010 Yushu earthquake2010 Yushu earthquake
The 2010 Yushu earthquake struck on April 14, 2010, and registered a magnitude of 6.9Mw or 7.1Ms . It originated in Yushu, Qinghai, China, at local time. According to the Xinhua News Agency, 2,698 people have been confirmed dead, 270 missing, and 12,135 injured of which 1,434 are severely injured...
struck Gyêgu on April 14. Gyêgu was reported to be the worst hit town, and most of the buildings were wrecked.