Derge, an ancient county of culture under snow-capped mountains
The scenery and weather in Derge County, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, is excellent, white clouds and blue sky.
Derge County is located in the northwest of Sichuan’s Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It borders Garze County in the east, Palyul County to the south, faces Jomda County in Tibet Autonomous Region across the Jinsha Jiang to the west, and Sershul County in the north.
Derge County has beautiful mountains and rivers, and it is extremely rich in resources for cultural tourism.
Derge County is called the “ancient county of culture under the snow-capped mountains”. The Tibetan culture in Derge inherited and developed ancient Tibetan Buddhist culture. Historically, Tibetan culture scholars have converged here.
The Derge Printing House, established in 1729, is the largest Tibetan printing house in China, and is known as the “treasure house of Tibetan culture”. It is a key place in Sichuan for the preservation of cultural relics. Derge dialect is the standard for the Kham region.
Derge has achieved relatively big breakthroughs in excavating, collating, and the use of ancient Tibetan medical literature, the development of precious Tibetan medicines, and the treatment of chronic and digestive diseases. It has become a base for treatment, teaching, and scientific research in Tibetan medicine.
Derge is known as “the hometown of King Gesar”. The Gesar Epic is a household name in Derge, and everyone knows of it. Derge County has a long history and has many fine, cultural monasteries, such as the Dzongsar Monastery, Ganqing Monastery, and Longya Monastery, which are well-known in Tibetan areas.