Zoigê County


Zoigê County is a county of Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan, China, bordering Gansu to the north. It is the northernmost county of the province. It is part of the Tibetan traditional region of Amdo.
It has an area of and a population of, 90.4% of which are Tibetan people.

Geography

Zoigê County is found in the easternmost sections of the Tibetan Plateau. The county is primarily a highland basin made up of the Zoigê Marsh between the Min Mountains and Amne Machin. The western border of the county, shared with Maqu County in Gansu, is formed by the first major bend of the Yellow River where it changes course nearly 180 degrees and heads back towards Qinghai.

Climate

Zoigê has an alpine subarctic climate, featuring very cold nights even in summertime, and very cold winters with extreme diurnal temperature ranges. Snow can fall any time of the year and usually does not melt until summer due to repeated nightly freezing even when maxima are above. Therefore, access to Zoigê is heavily restricted during the winter months from late October to early May. Sitting at an altitude of more than 11,000 feet, high-altitude sickness is another common problem for tourists.

Transport

Zoigê County has four towns and 13 townships: