Ngawa (Aba)

Aba or Ngawa (阿坝), is a Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture located in the northwestern part of Sichuan. It covers an area of 84,200 square kilometers and has a population of 847,000. Under its jurisdiction, there are 13 counties: Lixian (理县), Aba (阿坝), Maoxian (茂县), Jinchuan (金川), Wenchuan (汶川), Xiaojin (小金), Maerkang (马尔康), Rangtang (壤塘县), Songpan (松潘县), Ruoergai (若尔盖), Heishui (黑水县), Hongyuan (红原县), and Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟).

Ngawa (Aba)

The social customs in Aba are colorful and varigated. The omnipresent Mani piles and the fluttering buddhisa scripture streamers demonstrate the Tibetan people’s religious piety, the tall and strong watchtowers and the single cabled sliding bridges across the rapid give evidence to the technical expertise of the Qiang people. The horse race festivals, new year celebrations and the jolly tap dance and Guozhuang folk dance (锅庄舞) around the fireplace, the sipping of fragrant highland barley wine, the melodious guitar and the lyric fluter all bear winess to the people’s love of life and happiness.

Ngawa (Aba)

Endowed with beautiful scenery, Aba is a great place to get out. Its famous scenic attractions include the Jiuzhaigou Valley, a fairyland of the photographers, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992; Huanglong scenic and historic area, a world famous national park; Four Girls Mountain, a national scenic spot, which is noted for the picturesque Alpine landscape. Aba is also home to many rare wildlife, including swans, black-necked cranes, ruddy shelduck, giant pandas, golden monkeys, roe deer, bears, otters, leopards, and takins etc.