Jonê County 卓尼县

Setting and landscape

The county sits where the Yangtze and Yellow River basins meet, and the county government calls it a meeting zone of farming and herding ways of life. Rivers large and small spread out from the Tao across the whole county, and forest land covers about 3.34 million mu, most of it managed by the Tao River national nature reserve and ecological centres. The forests yield more than 100 kinds of fungi and ferns, including morels, and wildlife such as black bears, musk deer and bearded vultures.

History and monasteries

According to a county-government article, the Yang family received the chieftaincy in 1418, the 16th year of the Yongle reign, and ruled by inheritance from then on. Yang Jiqing (杨积庆), the 19th chieftain, is remembered for opening the granaries to support the Red Army.

Chanding Monastery (禅定寺), in Tibetan Jonê Tenzin Dargye Ling, stands on a terrace about half a kilometre northwest of the county seat. The Gannan prefecture government says it was sited and founded in 1295 by the Sakya leader Phagpa (八思巴) and describes it as the oldest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Amdo. Monasteries such as Kangduo (康多寺, 1676) and Shaowa (杓哇寺, 1685) were later placed under it as two of its 108 branch monasteries.

What to see and eat

Dayugou (大峪沟) is the county's national 4A scenic area. Inside it are Qibu Monastery (旗布寺), the narrow gorge called Yixiantian (一线天, "one line of sky") with a stream along the path, and Sanjiaoshi (三角石), a lookout reached by a climbing trail. Highway G248, which the county promotes as a self-drive route, crosses the county.

Taoyan inkstones (洮砚) come from Taoyan township (洮砚乡). The chieftain banquet (土司宴), once served to guests of the chieftain's household, now features morels, Tibetan hotpot, Tibetan steamed buns, rice with silverweed root (蕨麻米饭) and yak yoghurt.

Highlights

• Chanding Monastery 禅定寺: Founded in 1295 under Phagpa; described by the prefecture as the oldest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Amdo.
• Dayugou 大峪沟: National 4A scenic area with Qibu Monastery, the Yixiantian gorge and the Sanjiaoshi lookout.
• Taoyan inkstone 洮砚: Inkstone made from stone quarried in Taoyan township.
• Chieftain banquet 土司宴: Former household banquet of the Yang chieftains, with morels, Tibetan hotpot and yak yoghurt.