Xiahe
A Brief Survey
Xiahe, situated in the southwest of Gansu, is 270 kilo-
meters from Lanzhou, The whole county covers an area of
8, 691 square kilometers:the population is about 120, 000.
Since the county is located at the eastern margin of the
Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and at the end of the Western Qin-
ling Mountains, its topography is a mingling of high moun-
tains and valleys: the average altitude is 3, 500 meters. With
the Daxia, Ga, Ganiia. and Tao Rivers and others flowing
through it, the county has adequate water resources.
The temperature in Xiahe varies in accordance with the
altitude. Generally, where the altitude is above 3, 000 met-
ters, the climate is principally frigid and wet;where the alti-
tude is below 3, 000 meters, it is cold and humid. The aver-
age annual temperature is 2, 6 degrees centigrade, January is
the coldest month, with an average temperature of -9 de-
grees: July is the warmest with an average temperature of
12.8 degrees.
The climate and land of Xiahe are suitable for animal
husbandry. In fact, the area of grassland which could be uti-
lizde is 78.4% of the total land area: together with adequate
water resources, this makes Xiahe an excellent natural graz-
lng area for vast numbers of cattle and sheep.
The major crops are highland barley, wheat, broad
beans and rapeseed. As the natural environment makes
farming difficult, forestry and animal husbandry are the
dominant occupations in the area.
Industry is composed of electrical power, leather pro-
c essing, daily-use chemicals, cement and wool-washing.
Scenic Spots
Labuleng Monastery
At the western end of town, there is a mountain range
which looks like a golden phoenix. It is named Feng
(Phoenix) Mountain. Opposite it is Dragon Mountain, just
like a sleeping dragon ;Daxia River flows eastwards between
these two mountains and has washed the valley into a drag-
on-boat shaped basin which the local Tibetans call "Trea-
sure Basin". The famous Labuleng Monastery is situated in
this basin at the foot of Phoenix Mountain.
Labuleng is one of the six great monasteries of Tibetan
Buddhism in China . The other five are Ganzhou, Zhebang,
Sela, Zhashilunbu in Tibet and Ta' er in qinghai. Labuleng
was established in 1709. It is the political, religious and cul-
tural center of the Tibetan people in Gansu, Qinghai and
Sichuan Provinces.
Labuleng has many palaces, stupas, and other build-
ings. It occupies an area of more than 1, 300 mu. The build-
ings are tall and magnificent with gilded tiles and red walls,
Seen from afar, the golden roofs sparkle under the sun. The
Great Scripture Reading Hall is the center of the monastery;
It consists of the front, central, and back palaces. In the
front palace, Songzanganhu is worshipped. Between the
front and central palaces is a courtyard where the monks
discuss scriptures. In the central palace is hung a horizontal
board bestowed by the Qing Emperor, Qian Long;"Hui-Jue-
Temple" is inscribed on it in Tibetan, Chinese, Man, and
Mongolian. In the center of the back palace is a gilded cop-
per statue of Mitreya. On the right are eight bodhisattvas
and on the left the stupas for all the "living buddhas"of the
past. The hall can seat 4, 000. In the hall, the 177 columns
are wrapped with exquisite woolen covers. Between the
columns hang beautiful embroidered buddha portraits. On
both sides of the hall are huge murals.
The Great Gold Tile Palace is the highest and oldest
building in the monastery. In the palace is a gilded Buddha
statue ten meters high. It was the work of a Nepalese arti-
san. In this palace is preserved a scripture entitled "Sweet
Pearl Sutra"written in liquid gold and silver ;obviously it is
regarded as a rare treasure, The palace is covered with gild-
ed copper tiles;it is said that each tile is worth 64 sheep.
The buildings in the monastery are cemented with the
wisdom of Tibetan, Han, and Mongolian peoples. The Great
Gold Tile Palace, the Great Scripture Reading Hall;the inge-
nious stupas, the bright and colorful embroidered Buddha
portraits, pennants, canopies, and the huge copper pot are all
cultural treasures and they have attracted countless tourists
from home and abroad. In 1982, Labuleng Monastery was
designated a national protected cultural monument.
Many activities are held every year in Labuleng
Monastery. From the 4th to the 17th of the first lunar
month there is the '' Praying Congregation" in memory of
Sakyamunit s victory over the six heretic masters. During
this period, there are seven daily meetings in the Scripture
Reading Hall; one of these is for praying--thus the term''
Praying Congregation''. On the eighth day , a ceremony for
freeing animals is held during which selected horses, oxen,
and sheep are sprayed with clean water and then set free
with colored brocade or cloth tied around their ears. These
animals will never be killed.
The grandest ceremony is the display of the Portrait of
Buddha which is held on the 13th of the first lunar month.
The monks hang huge, finely-made Buddha portraits on the
side of Dragon Mountain and hundreds of thousands of pious
believers assemble to worship the Buddha. It is a solemn and
grand scene.
On the 14th, a Dharma ceremony is held in front of
Scripture Hall. On the 15th, butter art is displayed. On this
day, the monks exhibit their butter works--Buddha figures,
human figures, flowers, birds, animals, etc. On the 16th, the
monks carry the statue of the Miatreya Buddha and circle
around the temple preceeded by honor guards from the
Scripture Reading Hall. The ceremony is very exciting.
There are many other Buddhist activities, for example,
the "Sacrifice"in the second month, the "Preaching Dharma
Congregation" in the seventh month, the "Averting Disaster
Congregationt" in the ninth month and Zongkaba~ s anniver-
sary in the 10th month.
Folk Customs
Xianglang Festival
"Xianglang" is Tibetan for "to collect firewood". It is
said that every year, in the height of summer, the monks
from Labuleng Monastery used to go out to collect fire-
wood. Sometimes, because of the distance, they could not re-
turn on the same day or sometimes the amount of firewood
gathered was so great that they had to return very slowly so
that they had to sleep in the open for several days on the
way back. When they had leisure time, the monks often
made a sightseeing tour and enjoyed themselves on the
grassland. This went on for years and years. Gradually, a
habit of "langshan"--"going camping"was established. Now,
it has become a megnificent activity of "going camping"at-
tended by all the Tibetans living in the Daxia River Valley.
Annually, in July, when the Xianglang Festival is
around the corner, it is a slack season for the farmers, but
the pastures are lush. People, from ex, cry family busily make
preparations for the festival--cooking delicious food, packing
their tents and kitchenware. When they are ready, they ride
their horses to the beautiful grassslands.
Upon arrival, they set up their tents and the festival be-
gins. Everyone is in rich dress and everyone is happy. Under
the tents, hosts entertain their guests with fragrant milk
tea, Jixiang Jou (Lucky Wine), and Shouzhua Matton(Mut-
ton in Hand). Outside, people enjoy various kinds of activi-
ties--horse and yak racing, tug-of-war, wrestling, sining, and
dancing--all in the Tibetan way. Recently, with the develop-
ment of tourism, several tourist recreational activities have
been introduced among the traditional ones. These are loved
by both Tibetans and tourists.
Sanke Pasture, 15 kilometers from the county seat, is
one of the most popular places for the Xianglang Festival.
Gannan Tibetan Opera (Labuleng Tibetan Opera)
This opera form has three distinct parts--opening the
performance, the performance, and ending the performance,
which requires a commentator. Actors wear make-up but do
not wear any masks except for those who play gods and spir-
its. They also wear special 'costumes and head decorations.
Once the opera starts, the orchestra gives an instrumental
introduction on flute, dulcimer, dragon-head qin, small cym-
bals, drums and some other instruments, as soon as the ac-
tors appear, the orchestra stops playing. The whole perfor-.
mance depends on the actors~ experience and stagecraft.
They vividly express the charactersf inner feelings according
to the requirement of the drama by both speaking and
singing.
The subject matter of Gannan Tibetan Opera mainly
concerns folk legends, historical stories, and stories adapted
from the Buddhist scriptures. In recent years, with the ef-
forts of countless actors, the opera has absorbed aspects
from other types of drama and has become an even richer,
more expressive opera. Now, Gannan Tibetan Opera is a
form of art which is loved by others as well as Tibetans.
Native Products
Meiren Yak
In Xiahe, there is a saying, "The Meiren Yak stands tall
like a wall". This exactly indicates the features of the
Meiren Yak. It is an excellent, powerfully muscled, large
bodied species of the yak family.
Ganjia Sheep
Ganjia Sheep are an ancient species on the Qinghai-Ti-
betan Plateau. They are very strong;the average adult male
weighs 47 kilograms. The wool is fine and tough--the best
for high quality carpets.
Hezuo Hog
Named after Hezou, a city to the southeast of Xiahe
County seat, this species of plateau pig is the smallest in
China, Its other major characteristics are thin skin and high
proportion of lean meat to total body weight. The meat is fa-
mous for its tenderness.