Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture

• Name — Aba Prefecture • Official Name — · Rrmeabba Shbea Rrmea Nyujwju Gvexueaj LegeaNgawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture • Native Name — 阿坝州 · · Rrmeabba Legea • Settlement Type — Autonomous prefecture • Blank Emblem Size — 200px • Image Map — Sichuan subdivisions - Ngawa.svg • Mapsize — 250px • Map Caption — Ngawa-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture (top centre) in Sichuan • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Name — China • Subdivision Type1 — Province • Subdivision Name1 — Sichuan • Seat Type — Prefecture seat • Seat — Barkam (Barkam Town) • Government Type — Autonomous prefecture • Leader Title — CCP Secretary • Leader Name — Xu Zhivin • Leader Title1 — Congress Chairman • Leader Name1 — Luo Zhenhua • Leader Title2 — Governor • Leader Name2 — Yang Kening • Leader Title3 — CPPCC Chairman • Leader Name3 — Nyima Mu • Area Total Km2 — 83201 • Population As Of — 2022 • Population Total — 895200 • Population Density Km2 — auto • Population Blank1 Title — Major Ethnic Groups • Population Blank1 — Tibetan-60.2% Han-18.0% Qiang- 18.5% Hui-3.1% • Demographics Type2 — GDP • Demographics2 Title1 — Total • Demographics2 Info1 — CN¥ 26.5 billion US$ 4.3 billion • Demographics2 Title2 — Per capita • Demographics2 Info2 — CN¥ 28,647 US$ 4,599 • Timezone — China Standard • Utc Offset — +08:00 • Coor Pinpoint — Ngawa Prefecture government • Postal Code Type — Postal code • Area Code — 0837 • Iso Code — CN-SC-32 • Blank2 Name — License Plate Prefix • Blank2 Info — 川U

• Wylie — nga ba bod rigs dang chang rigs rang skyong khul • Zwpy — Ngawa Poirig Qangrig Ranggyong Kü • Lang2 — Qiang • Lang2 Content — Ggabba Shbea Rrmea nyujugvez zhou • S — 阿坝藏族羌族自治州 • T — 阿壩藏族羌族自治州 • P — Ābà Zàngzú Qiāngzú Zìzhìzhōu • Order — st • Altname — Abbreviated as "Aba Prefecture" • S2 — 阿坝州 • T2 — 阿壩州 • P2 — Ābà Zhōu Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, also known as Aba (Qiang: Rrmeabba Shbea Rrmea Nyujwju Gvexueaj Legea), is an autonomous prefecture of northwestern Sichuan, bordering Gansu to the north and northeast and Qinghai to the northwest. Its seat is in Barkam, and it has an area of 83,201 km2. The population was 895,200 by 2022. The county of Wenchuan in Ngawa is the site of the epicenter of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, in which over 20,000 of its residents died and 40,000 were injured.

During the reign of Tibet's king Trisong Detsen in the 8th century, the Gyalrong area was visited by the great translator Vairotsana. In 1410 Je Tsongkhapa's student Tshakho Ngawang Tapa established the first Tibetan Buddhist Gelug school monastery in the area, called "Gyalrong". In contemporary history, most of Ngawa was under the 16th Administrative Prefecture of Szechwan (四川省第十六行政督察區), which was established by the Republic of China (ROC). The People's Republic of China defeated ROC troops in this area during Chinese Civil war and subsequently established a Tibetan autonomous prefecture by late 1952. It was renamed Aba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in 1956 and Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in 1987. On May 12, 2008, a major earthquake occurred in Wenchuan County, a county in the southeastern part of this autonomous prefecture. 20,258 people were killed, 45,079 injured, 7,696 missing in the prefecture as of June 6, 2008.

Most of the prefecture lies in the Tibetan cultural and historical region of Amdo. The west, and part of Kardze, is also known as Gyalrong. Gyalrong people speak a Qiangic language known as Gyalrong language. The source of the Min River and its tributary Dadu River are to be found in Ngawa.

As of 2013, the prefecture's population was 919,987 inhabitants at a density of 10.91 per km 2. At the end of 2024, the resident population of the whole state was 828,000, including 372,000 in urban areas and 456,000 in rural areas. • Ethnic group — Population — Proportion of total — Tibetan — 489,747 — 57.3% — Han — 220,353 — 20.6% — Qiang — 157,905 — 18.6% — Hui — 26,353 — 3.3% — Yi — 685 — 0.08% — Manchu — 373 — 0.04% — Miao — 266 — 0.03% — Mongols — 202 — 0.02% — Tujia — 182 — 0.02% — Bai — 101 — 0.01% — Zhuang — 95 — 0.01% — others — 278 — 0.03%

Major languages spoken in Aba Prefecture include Tibetan, Mandarin Chinese and many vernaculars of the Qiangic languages which vary from county to county: • Barkam: rGyalrong • Li County: Southern Qiang, rGyalrong • Mao County: Northern Qiang, Southern Qiang • Jiuzhaigou County: Baima • Jinchuan County: Khroskyabs, rGyalrong • Xiaojin County: rGyalrong • Heishui County: Northern Qiang, rGyalrong • Zamtang County: Amdo Tibetan

The region is composed of one county-level city and twelve counties: • Map • # — Name — Hanzi — Pinyin — Tibetan — Wylie — Qiang — Population (2010 Census) — Area (km 2) — Density (/km 2) • 1 — Barkam City (Ma'erkang City) — zh-Hans — 'bar khams rdzong — Muerkvua shi — 58,437 — 6,639 — 8.80 • 2 — Wenchuan County — zh-Hans — Wènchuān Xiàn — / — lung dgu rdzong / khri tshang rdzong — 100,771 — 4,083 — 24.68 • 3 — Li County — zh-Hans — bkra shis gling — pauɕuq — 46,556 — 4,318 — 10.78 • 4 — Mao County — zh-Hans — ma'o wun — ʂqini — 104,829 — 4,075 — 25.72 • 5 — Songpan County — zh-Hans — zung chu rdzong — 72,309 — 8,486 — 8.52 • 6 — Jiuzhaigou County — zh-Hans — gzi rtsa sde dgu rdzong — 81,394 — 5,286 — 15.39 • 7 — Jinchuan County — zh-Hans — Jīnchuān Xiàn — chu chen rdzong — 65,976 — 5,524 — 11.94 • 8 — Xiaojin County — zh-Hans — btsan lha rdzong — 77,731 — 5,571 — 13.95 • 9 — Heishui County — zh-Hans — Hēishuǐ Xiàn — khro chu rdzong — khǝtʂǝp — 60,704 — 4,154 — 14.61 • 10 — Zamtang County (Rangtang County) — zh-Hans — 'dzam thang rdzong — 39,173 — 6,836 — 5.73 • 11 — Ngawa County (Aba County) — zh-Hans — rnga ba rdzong — Ggabba — 72,391 — 10,435 — 6.93 • 12 — Zoigê County (Ruo'ergai County) — zh-Hans — mdzod dge rdzong — 74,619 — 10,437 — 7.14 • 13 — Hongyuan County — zh-Hans — Hóngyuán Xiàn — / — rka khog rdzong / khyung mchu rdzong — 43,818 — 8,398 — 5.21 Though situated within Wenchuan County, Wolong National Nature Reserve and Wolong Special Administrative Region are administered separately by the Forestry Department of Sichuan.

• Illustration — Taxi fare for Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport in Ngawa prefecture The prefecture is served by Hongyuan Airport in the west and Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport in the east. Private taxis can be hired from these airports. Jiuzhaigou Train Station is under construction 55 km north-west of Jiuzhaigou County's town. The railway is to run between Chengdu and Lanzhou.

• Illustration — Aerial panorama of Waqie Talin 瓦切塔林 in Hongyuan county. • Illustration — Aerial perspective of the Songpan Ancient City walls and fort. October 2023. Tourism produced 71.0% of the GDP of the prefecture in 2006. There are many places of interest in the prefecture, including • Wolong National Nature Reserve in Wenchuan County, a well-known giant panda reserve where the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda was established in 1980 • Kirti Gompa, a 15th-century Tibetan Buddhism monastery • Nangzhik Gompa monastery, founded in the 12th century • Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area in Songpan County • Jiuzhaigou, Jiuzhaigou County, a nature reserve known for its many multi-level waterfalls and colorful lakes, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 • Mount Siguniang (四姑娘山 "Sku Mountain"; formerly 四姑山, a transcription), the highest point of the Qionglai Mountains, on the border between Xiaojin County (小金县; Tibetan) and Wenchuan County.