Haidong (p=Hǎidōng shì) is a prefecture-level city of Qinghai province in Western China. Its name literally means "east of the Qinghai Lake." On 8 February 2013 Haidong was upgraded from a prefecture (s=海东地区) into a prefecture-level city.
Haidong was historically populated by the Qiang people, although the area has been inhabited as early as 6000 years ago. In 121 BC the area was captured by Huo Qubing, defeating the Xiongnu. In 399 AD the Xianbei founded the state of Nanliang, with its capital in Ledu District.
Geography
Haidong is the easternmost division of Qinghai province. It is bounded by
Xining, the provincial capital, to the West, the
Datong River Valley to the north, Gansu to the east, and the
Yellow River to the south. Mountain ranges tower above the district of which the main valley is that of the
Huangshui River (Tib.
Tsong Chu), a major tributary of the Yellow River. This valley stretches from west to east and makes up - together with the area around Xining, the landscape which is called
Tsongkha ("Onion Valley") by Tibetans. It has a total area of .
Climate
Haidong has a cool semi-arid climate (Köppen
BSk) characterised by warm to very warm summers, freezing but extremely dry winters, and large diurnal temperature ranges. Temperatures are warmer than anywhere else in Qinghai due to the relatively low altitude, although minima in winter still typically fall below . Precipitation is low and mostly confined to the summer months: less than of water equivalent typically falls between October and April inclusive, and less than between November and March.
Administrative divisions
|
|
|
| Ping'an District | 平安区 | Píng'ān Qū | 102,975 | 750 | 137 |
| Ledu District | 乐都区 | Lèdū Qū | 260,185 | 2,821 | 92 |
| Minhe Hui and Tu Autonomous County | 民和回族土族自治县 | Mínhé Huízú Tǔzú
Zìzhìxiàn | 350,118 | 1,780 | 197 |
| Huzhu Tu Autonomous County | 互助土族自治县 | Hùzhù Tǔzú
Zìzhìxiàn | 356,437 | 3,321 | 107 |
| Hualong Hui Autonomous County | 化隆回族自治县 | Huàlóng Huízú
Zìzhìxiàn | 203,317 | 2,740 | 74 |
| Xunhua Salar Autonomous County | 循化撒拉族自治县 | Xúnhuà Sǎlāzú
Zìzhìxiàn | 123,814 | 1,749 | 70 |
Demographics
As of 2005, the total population of Haidong is approximately 1,480,000. It is the most densely populated area of
Qinghai, with almost a third of the province's population (its surface makes up only two percent of Qinghai).
Further reading
-
A. Gruschke: The Cultural Monuments of Tibet's Outer Provinces: Amdo - Volume 1. The Qinghai Part of Amdo, White Lotus Press, Bangkok 2001.
-
Tsering Shakya: The Dragon in the Land of Snows. A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947, London 1999,
