Garzê County
county in Sichuan, China
Garzê County or Kardze County (Tibetan: དཀར་མཛེས་རྫོང་།, Wylie: dkar mdzes rdzong), called Ganzi County in Chinese (Chinese: 甘孜县; pinyin: Gānzī xiàn), is one of the 18 subdivisions of the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in northwestern Sichuan province, China. The Yalong River passes just south of the town of Garzê, also known as Ganzi, the capital of the county. The town has about 16,920 inhabitants (2010), many of them ethnic Tibetans, and is famous for its Tibetan lamasery.. Historically, it is part of the Tibetan cultural region of Kham and now defunct province of Xikang (or Sikang). It lies on the northern section of the Sichuan-Tibet Highway.
Geography and climate
Due to its elevation, Garzê County has a monsoon-influenced humid continental climate (Köppen Dwb) and subarctic climate, with cold but very dry winters, and warm summers with frequent rain. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −3.9 °C (25.0 °F) in January to 14.2 °C (57.6 °F) in July, while the annual mean is 5.93 °C (42.7 °F). Over two-thirds of the annual precipitation of 646 mm (25.4 in) occurs from June thru September. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 49% in July to 74% in November and December, the county seat receives abundant, outside of summer, sunshine, totalling 2,620 hours annually. The diurnal temperature variation is large, averaging 14.5 °C (26.1 °F) annually.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Garzê County” as county in Sichuan, China. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as county in Sichuan, China. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1339716. VIAF identifies the subject as 146801989. The Library of Congress control number is n2007030391. Authority coordinates are 31.623, 99.993. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2010.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Garzê County”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Garzê County primary sources, Garzê County archive and Garzê research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Garzê County”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Garzê County” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.