| Aba Prefecture | |
| Native Name: | Chinese: 阿坝州 · {{bo-textonly|རྔ་བ་ཁུལ། |
| Settlement Type: | Autonomous prefecture |
| Blank Emblem Size: | 200px |
| Mapsize: | 250px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | China |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Sichuan |
| Seat Type: | Prefecture seat |
| 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[1] |
| 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 |
| Coordinates: | 31.9°N 102.22°W |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Area Code: | 0837 |
| Iso Code: | CN-SC-32 |
| Blank2 Name: | License Plate Prefix |
| Blank2 Info: | Chinese: 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 |
| Also Known As: | 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 83201km2. The population was 895,200 by 2022.[2]
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 Deutsen 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 (Chinese: 四川省第十六行政督察區), which was established by the Republic of China (ROC).[3]
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.[4]
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.[5] [6]
In 2009, the town of Ngaba in Ngawa prefecture became the self-immolation capital of the world.[7] From 2009 to 2019, more than 60 of Tibet's total 156 self-immolations occurred in Ngaba.[8] By 2020, the town's entrances were barricaded and surveillance cameras installed, with some 50,000 security personnel for the town's population of 15,000.
In 2008, Aba county was stripped of its internet connections. Internet access in the prefecture remains severely restricted as of 2013.[9]
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.
, the prefecture's population was 919,987 inhabitants at a density of 10.91 per km2:[10]
| Ethnic group | Population | Proportion of total | 489,747 | 57.3% | 220,353 | 20.6% | Qiang | 157,905 | 18.6% | 26,353 | 3.3% | Yi | 685 | 0.08% | Manchu | 373 | 0.04% | Miao | 266 | 0.03% | 202 | 0.02% | Tujia | 182 | 0.02% | Bai | 101 | 0.01% | 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:
Northern Qiang, Southern Qiang
In April 2020, classroom instruction was switched from Tibetan to Mandarin Chinese in Ngaba.[11]
The region is composed of one county-level city and twelve counties:
| Map | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Hanzi | Pinyin | Tibetan | Wylie | Qiang | Population | Area (km2) | Density (/km2) | ||
| 1 | Barkam City (Ma'erkang City) | Chinese: 马尔康市 | 'bar khams rdzong | Muerkvua shi | 58,437 | 6,639 | 8.80 | |||
| 2 | Wenchuan County | Chinese: 汶川县 | / | lung dgu rdzong / khri tshang rdzong | 100,771 | 4,083 | 24.68 | |||
| 3 | Li County | Chinese: 理县 | bkra shis gling | pauɕuq | 46,556 | 4,318 | 10.78 | |||
| 4 | Mao County | Chinese: 茂县 | ma'o wun | ʂqini | 104,829 | 4,075 | 25.72 | |||
| 5 | Songpan County | Chinese: 松潘县 | zung chu rdzong | 72,309 | 8,486 | 8.52 | ||||
| 6 | Jiuzhaigou County | Chinese: 九寨沟县 | gzi rtsa sde dgu rdzong | 81,394 | 5,286 | 15.39 | ||||
| 7 | Jinchuan County | Chinese: 金川县 | chu chen rdzong | 65,976 | 5,524 | 11.94 | ||||
| 8 | Xiaojin County | Chinese: 小金县 | btsan lha rdzong | 77,731 | 5,571 | 13.95 | ||||
| 9 | Heishui County | Chinese: 黑水县 | khro chu rdzong | khǝtʂǝp | 60,704 | 4,154 | 14.61 | |||
| 10 | Zamtang County (Rangtang County) | Chinese: 壤塘县 | 'dzam thang rdzong | 39,173 | 6,836 | 5.73 | ||||
| 11 | Ngawa County (Aba County) | Chinese: 阿坝县 | rnga ba rdzong | Ggabba | 72,391 | 10,435 | 6.93 | |||
| 12 | Zoigê County (Ruo'ergai County) | Chinese: 若尔盖县 | mdzod dge rdzong | 74,619 | 10,437 | 7.14 | ||||
| 13 | Hongyuan County | Chinese: 红原县 | / | rka khog rdzong / khyung mchu rdzong | 43,818 | 8,398 | 5.21 | |||
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 55km (34miles) north-west of Jiuzhaigou County's town. The railway is to run between Chengdu and Lanzhou.
Tourism produced 71.0% of the GDP of the prefecture in 2006.[12] There are many places of interest in the prefecture, including