Gannan Administrative Divisions

Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (甘南藏族自治州) lies in southwestern Gansu Province, where the northeastern Tibetan Plateau meets the Loess Plateau and the mountain systems bordering Sichuan. Established in 1953, it is one of China’s ten Tibetan autonomous prefectures, with Hezuo City (合作市) as its administrative capital. The prefecture covers approximately 45,000 square kilometres and consists of three markedly different geographical zones: the high grasslands of the west, the mountain-and-pastoral transition zone in the centre and northeast, and the forested Minshan–Diebu mountains and Bailong River valleys in the southeast.

Administratively, Gannan governs one county-level city and seven counties: Hezuo City, Lintan County, Zhuoni County, Diebu County, Zhouqu County, Xiahe County, Maqu County and Luqu County. The current prefecture-wide structure contains 99 statutory township-level divisions, comprising 4 subdistricts, 64 towns and 31 townships. The official Gannan Territorial Spatial Plan also identifies Hezuo as the prefectural centre and the seven county seats as the principal secondary urban nodes.

Administrative Structure at a Glance

The number of township-level units above corresponds with the prefecture’s current statutory planning framework. Individual county governments also confirm the current structures of Hezuo, Lintan, Zhuoni, Zhouqu and Xiahe.

Tourism Resources and Administrative Geography

Gannan’s tourism is best understood as a large circular region rather than a single-city destination. At a 2025 international tourism promotion event, the prefecture introduced a loop beginning and ending in Hezuo, passing through Lintan–Zhuoni–Zhouqu–Diebu–Langmusi–Maqu–Luqu–Xiahe, and connecting more than 40 national A-level tourist attractions.

Its strongest tourism themes are Tibetan Buddhist culture, highland grasslands, the upper Yellow River, alpine wetlands, forests, traditional villages, revolutionary heritage, geology and ethnic folk culture. Gannan currently has 13 national-level representative intangible cultural heritage projects and 71 provincial-level projects, including Tibetan songs, Nanmute Tibetan opera, Guozhuang dance, thangka painting, Tao inkstone craftsmanship, Tibetan medicine and traditional festival customs.

Hezuo City

Hezuo City is the political, commercial and transport centre of Gannan and usually functions as the starting point for a circuit through the prefecture. The latest city profile confirms 4 subdistricts, 3 towns and 3 townships, with 39 administrative villages and eight communities.

Tourism combines urban Tibetan culture with nearby grasslands. Important resources include Milarepa Buddhist Pavilion (米拉日巴佛阁), Meiren Grassland (美仁大草原), Dangzhou Grassland (当周草原), Gangcha Cave (岗岔溶洞) and the Tao River landscapes around Lexiu. Festivals such as the Shambhala Tourism and Arts Festival, Xianglang celebrations and Tibetan performing arts reinforce Hezuo’s role as Gannan’s cultural gateway.

Lintan County

Lintan County, historically known as Taozhou (洮州), occupies the transition between the Tibetan Plateau and Loess Plateau. It currently governs 11 towns and 5 townships.

Its flagship destination is Yeliguan Tourism Area (冶力关旅游区), formally designated a national 5A tourist attraction in December 2024. It is Gannan’s first 5A scenic area and combines alpine lakes, Danxia cliffs, forests, grasslands and terraced agricultural landscapes.

Lintan is also noted for the historic Taozhou area, New Town’s old urban fabric and distinctive folk traditions. The Lintan mass tug-of-war and Taozhou Dragon God Festival are national-level intangible cultural heritage traditions, giving the county an unusually strong combination of natural and folk-cultural tourism.

Zhuoni County

Zhuoni County currently contains 11 towns and 4 townships and covers more than 5,100 square kilometres. Tibetans represent the majority of the population, and local identity draws strongly on Tibetan Buddhist culture, the historic Zhuoni Tusi system, Tao inkstone craftsmanship and forest ecology.

The county’s principal tourism resources include Dayugou Scenic Area (大峪沟), the G248 self-driving corridor, Chanding Temple and traditional Tibetan villages. Zhuoni is also the historic home of Tao inkstone (洮砚) craftsmanship, one of the best-known traditional crafts associated with southern Gansu.

The remote Shaowa Tu Ethnic Township (杓哇土族乡) is particularly distinctive. It is the only Tu ethnic township in Gannan and preserves local costume, folk music and religious traditions alongside mountain scenery.

Diebu County

Diebu County (迭部县) governs 5 towns and 6 townships. The county government confirms that this structure has been in place since the latest major township adjustments beginning in 2017.

Its tourism centrepiece is Zhagana (扎尕那) in Yiwu Town, a dramatic mountain basin surrounded by limestone peaks, traditional Tibetan settlements, farmland and forests. Zhagana was selected as one of the UN World Tourism Organization’s Best Tourism Villages in 2023 and its traditional agro-forestry-pastoral system is also recognised as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System.

The county also contains Lazikou (腊子口), an important Long March heritage area, together with extensive mountain forests, river valleys and Tibetan villages. Diebu therefore combines highland scenery, village culture and revolutionary history.

Zhouqu County

Zhouqu County (舟曲县) lies in the southeast of Gannan where the Tibetan Plateau, Loess Plateau and Sichuan Basin meet. Its current government profile records 15 towns, 4 townships, 197 administrative villages and seven communities.

Zhouqu is traditionally called “Tibetan Jiangnan” (藏乡江南) because its lower elevation, humid climate, forests and Bailong River valleys are dramatically greener than western Gannan. Tourism resources include Laga Mountain, ancient Tibetan villages, Bailong River valley scenery, terraced landscapes and rural cultural communities.

Traditional culture is particularly strong. Duodi Dance (多地舞) is a national-level intangible cultural heritage tradition, while local lantern festivals, couplet culture, wine-making customs and village celebrations distinguish Zhouqu from the more pastoral western counties.

Xiahe County

Xiahe County currently governs 8 towns and 5 townships, with 65 administrative villages and four urban communities. Its official website separately lists a Yaliji Office (牙利吉办事处) for local management, but this office is not counted as an additional statutory township-level division in Gannan’s prefecture-wide total of 99.

Xiahe is Gannan’s principal centre of Tibetan Buddhist scholarship and Amdo Tibetan culture. Its tourism identity centres on the Labrang cultural area, grassland landscapes around Sangke and the archaeological and historical resources of the Ganjia Basin. The county promotes itself as “China Labrang · World Centre of Tibetan Studies.”

Maqu County

Maqu County (玛曲县) occupies the high grasslands around a major bend of the upper Yellow River and consists of 6 towns and 2 townships. Its settlements and grazing areas lie mostly above 3,400 metres, making it one of Gannan’s most strongly pastoral counties. The prefecture’s statutory spatial plan confirms the current eight-unit structure.

Tourism is based on the First Bend of the Yellow River, Awancang wetlands and grasslands, Hequ horse culture and Tibetan pastoral life. The county’s annual Gesar Horse Racing Festival is one of Gannan’s best-known grassland events, while the Hequ Horse Farm preserves the breeding tradition of the renowned Hequ horse.

Luqu County

Luqu County (碌曲县) currently contains 5 towns and 2 townships. A 2026 county government notice explicitly names all seven administrations: Ma’ai, Langmusi, Gahai, Xicang and Shuangcha towns, together with Ala and Laren’guan townships.

Its best-known tourism resources are Langmusi (郎木寺), Gahai Lake and wetlands (尕海), Zecha Stone Forest (则岔石林) and surrounding grasslands. Langmusi forms an unusual Tibetan Buddhist settlement straddling the Gansu–Sichuan boundary, while the Gahai area represents some of Gannan’s most important high-altitude wetland ecology.

Luqu is also closely associated with Tibetan Guozhuang dance, pastoral festivals and traditional village culture, making it an important cultural and ecological link between Xiahe, Maqu and Diebu.

Complete Township-Level Administrative Divisions of Gannan

The table below lists the complete current statutory township-level administrative structure of all eight county-level areas. The names are based principally on Gannan’s approved territorial spatial plan and have been cross-checked against the most recent county and city government information available through 2026.

The Hezuo list is independently confirmed by the city government’s 2026 profile, while the current Lintan, Zhuoni, Zhouqu, Diebu, Luqu and Xiahe structures are likewise supported by their respective government sources.

Administrative Totals

Several older online lists are now outdated because many former townships were upgraded to towns. Examples include Yiwu in Diebu, Gahai and Xicang in Luqu, and several towns in Lintan and Zhuoni. For current tourism and administrative website content, the 99-unit structure above is more appropriate than older pre-2017 lists.

A second point concerns naming. Current Zhouqu government documents use Boyu Town (博峪镇) and Baleng Township (八楞乡); both forms should be preferred over occasional typographical variants appearing in older planning documents.