Yushu City, Qinghai

Yushu (Yüxü) is a county-level city[1] of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Southern Qinghai Province, China. It comprises a surface area of 13,462 square kilometres (5,198 sq mi).[2] In 2010, the overall city's population was 120,447 and 56,802 live within the city core. Yushu is the fourth largest city in Qinghai.

Yushu

玉树市 · ཡུལ་ཤུལ་གྲོང་ཁྱེར།
County-level city
Yüxü
Gyêgu the seat of Yushu
Yushu (red) in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (yellow) and Qinghai
Yushu
Location of the seat in Qinghai
Coordinates: 33°00′N 97°00′E
CountryPeople's Republic of China
ProvinceQinghai
Autonomous prefectureYushu
County seatGyêgu
Area
 • Total13,462 km2 (5,198 sq mi)
Elevation
3,689 m (12,103 ft)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total77,854
 • Density5.8/km2 (15/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code
815000
Area code(s)0976
Yushu City, Qinghai
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese玉树
Traditional Chinese玉樹
Hanyu PinyinYùshù
Tibetan name
Tibetanཡུལ་ཤུལ

The city seat is the town of Gyêgu (also known as Yushu and Jiegu in Chinese), built in the valley of the Batang River, a right tributary of the Tongtian, which becomes the Jinsha at their confluence. All of these makeups part of the Yangtze watershed. In fact, almost the entire area of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is nomadic pastureland, except for Yushu city. Traditionally, it is one of the oldest towns in Qinghai Province and it serves as a trade hub, situated at the crossroads of the important trade routes between Ya’an, Xining, and Lhasa. In the early days, Chinese traders brought tea bricks from Sichuan and transported them to other parts of the Tibetan regions such as Lhasa, Chamdo, and Golok, which were the best-known towns during that time.

Temples and Monasteries in Yushu

The city has a few monasteries in and around, it has also one mosque. Gyegu Monastery is located on the hill, while Thrangu Monastery and Domkar Monastery are located outside the city. There are also some famous religious sites such as the Wencheng Temple, the Gyanak Mani Stone Temple, and the King Gesar Museum. The Wencheng Temple is located 20 kilometers from the city center, while Gyanak Mani Temple is located 9 kilometers from the center. King Gesar Museum is located in the city center.

Festivals in Yushu City

There are a few famous festivals in Yushu City. Yushu Horse Racing Festival is the most famous one in Yushu City. The Yushu Horse Racing Festival is a traditional festival that is normally held at the end of July to the beginning of August, depending on the dates in the Tibetan calendar. The festival site is located in the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province in northwestern China and is held on the lush summer grasslands of the valley floor, to make for better horse-racing events. Renowned as being the largest horse racing event in the Tibetan areas, the festival plays host to tens of thousands of Tibetans and tourists every year.

As well as being famed for its daring and awesome feats of horsemanship, and the outstanding races that are done on fast ponies that have been native to the plateau for over two thousand years, the festival has a host of other features as well. Archery on horseback contests is a popular activity to watch, as are the other sporting events, such as tug-of-war, weightlifting, and many other local sports.

Geography and climate
Map including Yushu (labeled as YÜ-SHU (JYEKUNDO)) (ATC, 1971)

With an elevation of around 3,700 metres (12,100 ft), Yushu has an alpine subarctic climate (Köppen Dwc), with long, cold, very dry winters, and short, rainy, and mild summers. Average low temperatures are below freezing from early/mid-October to late April; however, due to the wide diurnal temperature variation, the average high never lowers to the freezing mark. Despite frequent rain during summer, when a majority of days sees rain, only June, the rainiest month, has less than 50% of possible sunshine; with monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 49% in June to 66% in November, the city receives 2,496 hours of bright sunshine annually. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −6.8 °C (19.8 °F) in January to 13.3 °C (55.9 °F) in July, while the annual mean is 3.75 °C (38.7 °F). About three-fourths of the annual precipitation of 482 mm (19.0 in) is delivered from June to September.

Administrative divisions

Yushu comprises two towns: Gyêgu (结古镇, Jiégǔzhèn; also known as "Yushu" from its position as the city seat) and Longbao (隆宝镇).

It has six townships: Shanglaxiu (上拉秀乡), Xialaxiu (下拉秀乡), Anchong (安冲乡), Zhongda (仲达乡), Batang (巴塘乡), and Xiaosumang (小苏莽乡).

Transportation

The city is served by the China National Highway 214 and the recently constructed (opened 2009) Yushu Batang Airport.

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See also

References
  1. 民政部关于同意青海省撤销玉树县设立县级玉树市的批复 [Ministry of Civil Affairs approves the approval of Qinghai Province to revoke the establishment of a county-level Yushu City in Yushu County] (in Chinese). Archived from the original on December 19, 2013.
  2. For comparison, the total surface area of Beijing municipality is 16,801.25 km2 (6,487.00 sq mi).
  3. 中国气象数据网 - WeatherBk Data (in Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  4. "Chine climate normals 1981-2010" (in French). Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  5. "Weather extremes for Yushu". Météo Climat. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
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