Ruo'ergai 若尔盖县

Setting and landscape

To the west, north and east the county borders Maqu (玛曲), Luqu (碌曲), Zhuoni (卓尼) and Diebu (迭部) in Gansu's Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (甘南藏族自治州); to the south lie Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟), Songpan (松潘), Hongyuan (红原) and Aba (阿坝) counties. The mean annual temperature is 1.1°C, with a recorded low of −33.7°C.

The Ruo'ergai plateau wetland (若尔盖高原湿地), which the county government says is nurtured by both the Yangtze and the Yellow River, is described by the county government as the largest and most pristine high-altitude cold wetland in the world, holding about 10 billion cubic metres of water. The county lists more than 1,160 wild plant species and 328 recorded bird species, with ruddy shelducks and black-necked cranes along the lake shores. The Reer grassland (热尔大坝草原) is called the country's second-largest grassland after Hulunbuir (呼伦贝尔), and Flower Lake (花湖) lies within it.

What to see

At Tangke town (唐克镇), in front of Suoge Monastery (索格藏寺), the White River (白河) joins the Yellow River and the Yellow River swings back in an S-shaped loop, the First Bend of the Yellow River (黄河九曲第一湾). The county government describes it as a turn of nearly 180 degrees, the only one along the river's course. The White River rises at Gawa Daze (嘎哇达则) in Hongyuan County, and red willows line its banks.

Local lore attached to the bend tells of the Yellow River as a daughter of the snow mountain Amne Machin (阿尼玛卿) who turns back towards Xuebaoding (雪宝顶) peak in the Min Mountains before heading north-west again.

History

Ruo'ergai was set up as a county in 1953. On the Long March, the three main forces of the Red Army all passed through the county, and the county government calls it the place where the Red Army stayed longest on the north-west Sichuan plateau. It keeps 28 revolutionary sites, including the battlefield of the Baozuo campaign (包座战役) and the site of the Baxi Meeting (巴西会议会址), and more than 380 revolutionary relics. The Banyou grassland (班佑草地) and the Baxi farming area (巴西农区) are named as places Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai crossed.

Highlights

• First Bend of the Yellow River 黄河九曲第一湾: S-shaped bend at Tangke where the White River joins the Yellow River in front of Suoge Monastery.
• Flower Lake 若尔盖花湖: Lake on the Reer grassland, lined with flowers in summer according to the county government.
• Reer grassland 热尔大坝草原: Called by the county the country's second-largest grassland after Hulunbuir.
• Baxi Meeting site 巴西会议会址: One of 28 Long March revolutionary sites kept in the county.