Qinghai
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| མཚོ་སྔོན་ 青海省 Qīnghǎi Shěng | |
| Abbreviations: 青 (pinyin: Qīng) | |
| Image:China-Qinghai.png | |
| Origin of name | From Mongolian Köke Nayur: Köke - blue Naγur - Lake "blue lake" (Lake Qinghai) In Chinese: 青 qīng - green/blue 海 hǎi - sea "green sea" | Administration type | Province |
| Capital (and largest city) | Xining |
| CPC Ctte Secretary | Qiang Wei |
| Governor | Song Xiuyan |
| Area | 721,000 km² (4th) |
| Population (2004) - Density | 5,390,000 (30th) 7.48/km² (30th) |
| GDP (2006) - per capita | CNY 64.1 billion (30th) CNY 11,753 (23rd) |
| HDI (2005) | 0.684 (medium) (27th) |
| Major nationalities | Han - 54% Tibetan - 23% Hui - 16% Tu - 4% Salar - 1.8% Mongol - 1.8% |
| Prefecture-level | 8 divisions |
| County-level | 43 divisions |
| Township-level† | 429 divisions |
| ISO 3166-2 | CN-63 |
| Official website http://www.qh.gov.cn/ (Simplified Chinese) | |
| Source for population and GDP data: 《中国统计年鉴—2005》 China Statistical Yearbook 2005 Source for nationalities data:ISBN 7503747382 《2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料》 Tabulation on nationalities of 2000 population census of China † As at December 31, 2004
ISBN 7105054255 | |
| Qinghai | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Chinese: | 青海 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Manchu name | |||||||||||
| Manchu: | Huhu Noor | ||||||||||
| Mongolian name | |||||||||||
| Mongolian: | Köke Naγur | ||||||||||
| Tibetan name | |||||||||||
| Tibetan: | མཚོ་སྔོན་ | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Qinghai (青海, qīnghǎi) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after the enormous Qinghai Lake. It borders Gansu on the northeast, the Xinjiang Autonomous Region on the northwest, Sichuan on the southeast, and Tibet Autonomous Region on the southwest.
Contents |
[edit] History
Qinghai is a relatively recent province of China. The area has been an ethnic melting pot for a long time, mixing Han (Chinese), Mongolian, Tibetan, and Turkic influences. It was a battleground during the Tang and the subsequent Chinese dynasties when they fought against successive Tibetan dynasties.[1]
In 1928, it became a province of the then Republic of China. Subsequently it became the primary base for warlord Ma Bufang, before it became a province under the People's Republic in 1949.
[edit] Geography
Qinghai is located on the northeastern part of the Tibetan Plateau. The Yellow River (Huang He) originates in the middle of the province, while the Yangtze and Mekong have their sources in the southern part.
The average elevation of Qinghai is about 3000 metres above sea level. Mountain ranges include the Tangula Mountains and Kunlun Mountains. Its average temperature is approximately -5 to 8°C, with January temperatures ranging from -18.2 to -7°C and July temperatures ranging from 5 to 21°C. It is also prone to heavy winds as well as sandstorms from February to April.
Qinghai Lake (Koko Nor) is the largest lake in the People's Republic of China.
[edit] Administrative divisions
- Further information: List of administrative divisions of Qinghai
Qinghai is administratively divided into one prefecture-level city (Xining), one prefecture (Haidong Prefecture), and six autonomous prefectures: Haibei, Hainan, Huangnan, Golog, Gyêgu, and Haixi. All of these are in turn divided into four districts, two county-level cities, thirty counties, and seven autonomous counties.
[edit] Politics
Secretaries of the CPC Qinghai Committee:
- Zhang Zhongliang (张仲良): 1949-1954
- Zhao Shoushan (赵寿山): 1952
- Gao Feng (高峰): 1954-1961
- Wang Zhao (王昭): 1961-1962
- Yang Zhilin (杨植霖): 1962-1966
- Liu Xianquan (刘贤权): 1967-1977
- Tan Qilong (谭启龙): 1977-1979
- Liang Buting (梁步庭): 1979-1982
- Zhao Haifeng (赵海峰): 1982-1985
- Yin Kesheng (尹克升): 1985-1997
- Tian Chengping (田成平): 1997-1999
- Bai Enpei (白恩培): 1999-2001
- Su Rong (苏荣): 2001-2003
- Zhao Leji (赵乐际): 2003-2007
- Qiang Wei (强卫): 2007-incumbent
Governors of Qinghai
- Zhao Shoushan (赵寿山): 1950-1952
- Zhang Zhongliang (张仲良): 1952-1954
- Sun Zuobin (孙作宾): 1954-1958
- Sun Junyi (孙君一): 1958
- Yuan Renyuan (袁任远): 1958-1962
- Wang Zhao (王昭): 1962-1967
- Liu Xianquan (刘贤权): 1967-1977
- Tan Qilong (谭启龙): 1977-1979
- Zhang Guosheng (张国声): 1979-1982
- Huang Jingbo (黄静波): 1982-1985
- Song Ruixiang (宋瑞祥): 1985-1989
- Jin Jipeng (金基鹏): 1989-1992
- Tian Chengping (田成平): 1992-1997
- Bai Enpei (白恩培): 1997-1999
- Zhao Leji (赵乐际): 1999-2003
- Yang Chuantang (杨传堂): 2003-2004
- Song Xiuyan (宋秀岩): 2004-incumbent
[edit] Economy
Qinghai's economy is amongst the smallest in all of China. Its nominal GDP for 2006 was just 64.1 billion RMB (8.3 billion USD) and contributes to a little over 0.3% of the entire country's economy. Per capita GDP was 11,753 RMB (1,519 USD).
Its heavy industry includes iron and steel productions, located near its capital city of Xining. Oil and natural gas from the Chaidamu Basin have also been an important contributor to the economy.
[edit] Demographics
The population of Qinghai is approximately 5.2 million, among which the Han account for 54.5%. Other groups include the Tibetans 20.87%, Tu, Hui, Salar, and Mongols.
[edit] Culture
Qinghai's culture is heavily influenced by China and Tibet, given the close proximities as well as a shared history. Qinghai was also vital to such European eras as the Reformation, and the Renaissance as numerous Chinese inventions like the compass and the printing press all flowed through the Silk Road, which was vital to the economy.
[edit] Transportation
- See also: Transportation in China
The Lanqing Railway, running between Lanzhou, Gansu and Xining, the province's capital, was completed in 1959 and is the major transportation route in and out of the province. A continuation of the line, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway through Golmud, has become one of the most ambitious projects in PRC history. It was completed in October 2005 and now links Tibet with the rest of China through Qinghai.
Six National Highways run through the province. Xining Caojiabu Airport provides service to Beijing, Lanzhou, Golmud and Delingha.
[edit] Tourism
Many tourist attractions center on Xining, the provincial seat of Qinghai.
The city itself has such notable stops, including the Great Mosque of Xining (清真大寺, qīngzhēn dà sì) and North Mountain Temple (北山寺, běishān sì).
Outside Xining lie two notable attractions:
- The Kumbum Monastery (Tibetan: sKu 'bum dKon pa)(塔尔寺, tǎ'ěr sì), one of the most important Yellow Hat Sect monasteries, lies 30 km outside Xining. It also features the Hall of Yak Butter Sculptures.
- Qinghai Lake (青海湖, qīnghǎi hú) is another tourist attraction, albeit further from Xining than Kumbum. The lake is the largest saltwater lake in China, and is also located on the "Roof of the World," the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. The lake itself lies at 3,600m elevation. The surrounding area is made up of rolling grasslands and populated by ethnic Tibetans. Most pre-arranged tours stop at Bird Island (鸟岛, niǎo dǎo). An international bicycle race takes place annually from Xining to Qinghai Lake.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Province-level divisions of the People's Republic of China | ||
|---|---|---|
| Provinces | Anhui · Fujian · Gansu · Guangdong · Guizhou · Hainan · Hebei · Heilongjiang · Henan · Hubei · Hunan · Jiangsu · Jiangxi · Jilin · Liaoning · Qinghai · Shaanxi · Shandong · Shanxi · Sichuan · Taiwan1 · Yunnan · Zhejiang | Image:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg |
| Autonomous regions | Guangxi · Inner Mongolia · Ningxia · Tibet · Xinjiang | |
| Municipalities | Beijing · Chongqing · Shanghai · Tianjin | |
| Special administrative regions | Hong Kong · Macau | |
| 1 Taiwan is claimed by the PRC but administered by the Republic of China. | ||
Qinghai Province of China | ||
|---|---|---|
| History · Politics · Economy | ||
| Prefecture-level city | Xining | |
| Prefecture | Haidong | |
| Autonomous prefectures | Golog · Haibei · Hainan · Haixi · Huangnan · Yushu | |
| See also: List of Qinghai County-level divisions | ||
bg:Цинхай ca:Qinghai cs:Čching-chaj da:Qinghai de:Qinghai et:Qinghai es:Qinghai eo:Ĉinghajo eu:Qinghai fr:Qinghai ko:칭하이 성 hi:चिंग हई id:Qinghai it:Qinghai he:צ'ינגהאי sw:Qinghai la:Qingha lt:Činghai hu:Qinghai ms:Qinghai nl:Qinghai ja:青海省 no:Qinghai nn:Qinghai pl:Qinghai pt:Qinghai ro:Qinghai ru:Цинхай fi:Qinghai sv:Qinghai th:มณฑลชิงไห่ vi:Thanh Hải tr:Qinghai zh:青海省
