Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (; ; ), locally also known as Qaidam Prefecture (; ; ), is an autonomous prefecture occupying much of the northern half of (as well as part of the southwest of) Qinghai Province, China. It has an area of and its seat is Delingha. The name of the prefecture literally means "west of (Qinghai) Lake."
Geladandong Mountain, the source of the Yangtze River, is located here.
History After 1949, the People's Government of Dulan County was founded and the area was renamed Dulan Autonomous District (); in 1954, Dulan was renamed Haixi Mongol, Tibetan and Kazakh Autonomous District () and in 1955, Haixi Mongol, Tibetan and Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture (). In 1963, it was renamed "" (with the "Tibetan" added to the official county name). In 1985, after the Kazakhs had returned to Xinjiang, it was again renamed to Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture..For details, see:
Demographics As of the 2017 census, Haixi had 515,200 inhabitants.
The following is a composition of ethnic groups in the prefecture, taken in the 2010 Census.
Ethnicity Population Percentage Han 322,996 66.01% Hui 65,828 13.45% Tibetan 53,498 10.93% Mongolian 27,043 5.53% Tu/Monguor 9,952 2.03% Salar 4,665 0.95% Dongxiang 2,734 0.56% Manchu 684 0.14% Tujia 346 0.07% Kazakh 525 0.11% Others 1066 0.22%
Subdivisions Haixi directly governs 3 county-level cities and 3 counties.
Map Name Hanzi Hanyu Pinyin Mongolian Tibetan WylieTibetan Pinyin Population(2010) Area (km2) Density(/km2)Delingha City(Delhi City)91,85561,6131.49Golmud City(Ge'ermu City)215,213123,4601.74Mangnai City(Mangya City)33,45149,0000.63Ulan County(Wulan County)38,72310,7843.59Dulan County76,62350,0001.53Tianjun County33,92320,0001.70Da Qaidam Administrative Zone(Ih'qaidam Administrative Zone)13,67134,0000.40
The southwestern exclave of the Haixi Prefecture, separated from the rest of the prefecture by a "panhandle" of the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, is the Tanggula Town of Golmud City.
Gallery
Notable features Delingha City Qaidam Basin Geladandong mountain Headwaters of the Yangtze River The Baigong Pipes
Notes
Further reading A. Gruschke: The Cultural Monuments of Tibet's Outer Provinces: Amdo – Volume 1. The Qinghai Part of Amdo, White Lotus Press, Bangkok 2001. Tsering Shakya: The Dragon in the Land of Snows. A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947, London 1999,
External links Official website of Haixi Government