County-level city in Qinghai, People's Republic of China

Yushu

玉树市 · ཡུལ་ཤུལ་གྲོང་ཁྱེར།

County-level city

Yüxü

Yushu (red) in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (yellow) and Qinghai

Yushu

Location of the seat in Qinghai

Coordinates: 33°00′N 97°00′E / 33.000°N 97.000°E / 33.000; 97.000Coordinates: 33°00′N 97°00′E / 33.000°N 97.000°E / 33.000; 97.000
Country| People's Republic of China
Province| Qinghai
Autonomous prefecture| Yushu
County seat| Gyêgu
Area

• Total| 13,462 km2 (5,198 sq mi)
Elevation

| 3,689 m (12,103 ft)
Population

(2018)

• Total| 416,600
• Density| 31/km2 (80/sq mi)
Time zone| UTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code|

815000

Area code| 0976
Yushu City, Qinghai

Chinese name
Simplified Chinese| 玉树
Traditional Chinese| 玉樹
Hanyu Pinyin| Yùshù
| Transcriptions

Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin| Yùshù
Tibetan name
Tibetan| ཡུལ་ཤུལ
| Transcriptions

Wylie| yul shul
Tibetan Pinyin| Yüxü

Yushu (Yüxü) is a county-level city[1] of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Southern Qinghai Province, China. It comprises a surface area of 13,462 square kilometres (5,198 sq mi).[2] In 2010, the overall city's population was 120,447 and 56,802 live within the city core. There are around 356,000 people in the metropolitan area in 2020. Yushu is the fourth largest city in Qinghai.

The city seat is the town of Gyêgu (also known as Yushu and Jiegu in Chinese), built in the valley of the Batang River, a right tributary of the Tongtian, which becomes the Jinsha at their confluence. All of these makeups part of the Yangtze watershed. In fact, almost the entire area of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is nomadic pastureland, except for Yushu city. Traditionally, it is one of the oldest towns in Qinghai Province and it serves as a trade hub, situated at the crossroads of the important trade routes between Ya’an, Xining, and Lhasa. In the early days, Chinese traders brought tea bricks from Sichuan and transported them to other parts of the Tibetan regions such as Lhasa, Chamdo, and Golok, which were the best-known towns during that time.

## Temples and Monasteries in Yushu[edit]

The city has a few monasteries in and around, it has also one mosque. Gyegu Monastery is located on the hill, while Thrangu Monastery and Domkar Monastery are located outside the city. There are also some famous religious sites such as the Wencheng Temple, the Gyanak Mani Stone Temple, and the King Gesar Museum. The Wencheng Temple is located 20 kilometers from the city center, while Gyanak Mani Temple is located 9 kilometers from the center. King Gesar Museum is located in the city center.

## Festivals in Yushu City[edit]

There are a few famous festivals in Yushu City. Yushu Horse Racing Festival is the most famous one in Yushu City. The Yushu Horse Racing Festival is a traditional festival that is normally held at the end of July to the beginning of August, depending on the dates in the Tibetan calendar. The festival site is located in the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province in northwestern China and is held on the lush summer grasslands of the valley floor, to make for better horse-racing events. Renowned as being the largest horse racing event in the Tibetan areas, the festival plays host to tens of thousands of Tibetans and tourists every year.

As well as being famed for its daring and awesome feats of horsemanship, and the outstanding races that are done on fast ponies that have been native to the plateau for over two thousand years, the festival has a host of other features as well. Archery on horseback contests is a popular activity to watch, as are the other sporting events, such as tug-of-war, weightlifting, and many other local sports.

## Geography and climate[edit]

Map including Yushu (labeled as YÜ-SHU (JYEKUNDO)) (ATC, 1971)

With an elevation of around 3,700 metres (12,100 ft), Yushu has an alpine subarctic climate (Köppen Dwc), with long, cold, very dry winters, and short, rainy, and mild summers. Average low temperatures are below freezing from early/mid-October to late April; however, due to the wide diurnal temperature variation, the average high never lowers to the freezing mark. Despite frequent rain during summer, when a majority of days sees rain, only June, the rainiest month, has less than 50% of possible sunshine; with monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 49% in June to 66% in November, the city receives 2,496 hours of bright sunshine annually. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −6.8 °C (19.8 °F) in January to 13.3 °C (55.9 °F) in July, while the annual mean is 3.75 °C (38.7 °F). About three-fourths of the annual precipitation of 482 mm (19.0 in) is delivered from June to September. The residents of Yushu City reported seeing a large meteor fireball falling from the sky into the horizon on December 23, 2020.[3]

Climate data for Yushu, 3717 m asl (1981–2010 normals)

Month  | Jan  | Feb  | Mar  | Apr  | May  | Jun  | Jul  | Aug  | Sep  | Oct  | Nov  | Dec  | Year
Record high °C (°F)  | 17.6
(63.7)  | 15.6
(60.1)  | 23.9
(75.0)  | 26.1
(79.0)  | 34.1
(93.4)  | 35.7
(96.3)  | 36.8
(98.2)  | 34.4
(93.9)  | 33.7
(92.7)  | 25.2
(77.4)  | 18.5
(65.3)  | 15.0
(59.0)  | 36.8
(98.2)
Mean maximum °C (°F)  | 9.5
(49.1)  | 11.0
(51.8)  | 15.4
(59.7)  | 18.9
(66.0)  | 22.5
(72.5)  | 25.0
(77.0)  | 25.8
(78.4)  | 25.7
(78.3)  | 23.7
(74.7)  | 19.9
(67.8)  | 12.6
(54.7)  | 9.9
(49.8)  | 26.9
(80.4)
Average high °C (°F)  | 2.7
(36.9)  | 4.8
(40.6)  | 8.8
(47.8)  | 12.5
(54.5)  | 16.0
(60.8)  | 18.7
(65.7)  | 20.7
(69.3)  | 20.4
(68.7)  | 17.7
(63.9)  | 12.6
(54.7)  | 7.3
(45.1)  | 3.6
(38.5)  | 12.2
(53.9)
Daily mean °C (°F)  | −6.8
(19.8)  | −3.9
(25.0)  | 0.5
(32.9)  | 4.3
(39.7)  | 8.2
(46.8)  | 11.5
(52.7)  | 13.3
(55.9)  | 12.5
(54.5)  | 9.6
(49.3)  | 4.2
(39.6)  | −2.2
(28.0)  | −6.2
(20.8)  | 3.8
(38.8)
Average low °C (°F)  | −14.2
(6.4)  | −10.9
(12.4)  | −6.1
(21.0)  | −2.3
(27.9)  | 1.9
(35.4)  | 6.0
(42.8)  | 7.6
(45.7)  | 6.6
(43.9)  | 4.2
(39.6)  | −1.5
(29.3)  | −8.9
(16.0)  | −13.6
(7.5)  | −2.6
(27.3)
Mean minimum °C (°F)  | −20.9
(−5.6)  | −18.2
(−0.8)  | −13.6
(7.5)  | −7.9
(17.8)  | −3.3
(26.1)  | 0.5
(32.9)  | 2.2
(36.0)  | 1.2
(34.2)  | −1.8
(28.8)  | −8.2
(17.2)  | −14.7
(5.5)  | −19.9
(−3.8)  | −21.7
(−7.1)
Record low °C (°F)  | −30.0
(−22.0)  | −28.3
(−18.9)  | −19.5
(−3.1)  | −12.8
(9.0)  | −11.6
(11.1)  | −4.8
(23.4)  | −1.9
(28.6)  | −2.3
(27.9)  | −7.9
(17.8)  | −14.3
(6.3)  | −20.6
(−5.1)  | −27.6
(−17.7)  | −30.0
(−22.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches)  | 3.7
(0.15)  | 4.4
(0.17)  | 8.9
(0.35)  | 16.4
(0.65)  | 54.7
(2.15)  | 98.9
(3.89)  | 97.6
(3.84)  | 87.7
(3.45)  | 72.9
(2.87)  | 30.8
(1.21)  | 3.5
(0.14)  | 2.1
(0.08)  | 481.6
(18.95)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 1.3  | 1.6  | 2.4  | 4.7  | 11.4  | 16.8  | 16.1  | 13.4  | 13.7  | 6.7  | 1.0  | 0.5  | 89.6
Average relative humidity (%)  | 41  | 39  | 40  | 46  | 55  | 64  | 66  | 66  | 68  | 62  | 48  | 42  | 53
Source: China Meteorological Administration,[4] Météo Climat[5][6]

Climate data for Yushu, Qinghai (1971−2000)

Month  | Jan  | Feb  | Mar  | Apr  | May  | Jun  | Jul  | Aug  | Sep  | Oct  | Nov  | Dec  | Year
Average high °C (°F)  | 1.9
(35.4)  | 4.1
(39.4)  | 8.4
(47.1)  | 12.2
(54.0)  | 15.9
(60.6)  | 18.4
(65.1)  | 20.0
(68.0)  | 20.0
(68.0)  | 16.9
(62.4)  | 12.3
(54.1)  | 6.8
(44.2)  | 2.8
(37.0)  | 11.6
(52.9)
Average low °C (°F)  | −15.1
(4.8)  | −11.5
(11.3)  | −6.5
(20.3)  | −2.9
(26.8)  | 1.6
(34.9)  | 5.3
(41.5)  | 6.9
(44.4)  | 5.9
(42.6)  | 3.6
(38.5)  | −1.9
(28.6)  | −9.5
(14.9)  | −14.4
(6.1)  | −3.2
(26.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches)  | 3.1
(0.12)  | 5.1
(0.20)  | 8.4
(0.33)  | 16.6
(0.65)  | 54.0
(2.13)  | 102.2
(4.02)  | 102.1
(4.02)  | 83.9
(3.30)  | 75.4
(2.97)  | 29.1
(1.15)  | 3.7
(0.15)  | 2.2
(0.09)  | 485.8
(19.13)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 3.5  | 4.4  | 7.0  | 10.5  | 17.8  | 21.8  | 20.9  | 18.3  | 19.4  | 12.5  | 3.4  | 2.2  | 141.7
Average relative humidity (%)  | 44  | 41  | 41  | 48  | 57  | 65  | 68  | 68  | 71  | 64  | 50  | 45  | 55
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 186.6  | 177.6  | 213.9  | 227.4  | 237.4  | 210.3  | 227.0  | 225.2  | 188.0  | 202.6  | 207.0  | 193.3  | 2,496.3
Percent possible sunshine | 59  | 57  | 58  | 59  | 56  | 49  | 52  | 54  | 51  | 58  | 66  | 62  | 56
Source: "China Meteorological Administration". Retrieved 2010-07-02.

## Administrative divisions[edit]

Yushu comprises two towns: Gyêgu (结古镇, Jiégǔzhèn; also known as "Yushu" from its position as the city seat) and Longbao (隆宝镇).

Yushu City is divided to 4 subdistricts, 2 towns and 6 townships.[7]

Subdistricts

* Jieguzhen Subdistrict (结古镇街道)
* Zhaxike Subdistrict (扎西科街道)

* Xihang Subdistrict (西杭街道)
* Xinzhai Subdistrict (新寨街道)

|

Towns

* Longbao (隆宝镇)
* Laxiu (下拉秀镇)

Townships

* Zhongda Township (仲达乡)
* Batang Township (巴塘乡)
* Xiaosu'mang Township (小苏莽乡)

* Shanglaxiu Township (上拉秀乡)
* Haxiu Township (哈秀乡)
* Anchong Township (安冲乡)

|

## Transportation[edit]

The city is served by the China National Highway 214 and the recently constructed (opened 2009) Yushu Batang Airport.

## See also[edit]

* 2010 Yushu earthquake

## References[edit]

1. ^ 民政部关于同意青海省撤销玉树县设立县级玉树市的批复 [Ministry of Civil Affairs approves the approval of Qinghai Province to revoke the establishment of a county-level Yushu City in Yushu County] (in Chinese). Archived from the original on December 19, 2013.
2. ^ For comparison, the total surface area of Beijing municipality is 16,801.25 km2 (6,487.00 sq mi).
3. ^ "Giant meteor fireball smashes into China, spreads panic I WATCH VIRAL VIDEO". Zee Business. December 24, 2020.
4. ^ 中国气象数据网 - WeatherBk Data (in Chinese (China)). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
5. ^ "Chine climate normals 1981-2010" (in French). Retrieved 11 November 2019.
6. ^ "Weather extremes for Yushu". Météo Climat. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
7. ^ "统计用区划代码 www.stats.gov.cn" (in Chinese). XZQH. Retrieved 2020-12-30.

## External links[edit]

* (in Chinese) Yushu-Website in Chinese \- Google translation
* Yushu travel guide from Wikivoyage

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County-level divisions of Qinghai Province

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