Jyekundo

Jyekundo is the capital town of Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture located in southern Qinghai province. It is located in the traditional Tibetan province of Kham. Jyekundo, known locally as Gawa (Jiegu in Chinese), has a population of over 40,000 and is around 85% Tibetan. Jyekundo sits in a valley at 3700m / 12,136 feet above sea level with 4000+ meter mountains all around.

Jyekundo and the rest of Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture opened up to foreigners less than 10 years ago (late 1990's). Because of its remote location, it sees considerably less foreign travelers than other Tibetan places like Lhasa, Labrang or Shangri-La (Zhongdian). The only way to reach Jyekundo is by long distance bus. Xining is the closest city to Jyekundo, but Xining is over 825km / 515 miles away. Over the last few years though, more and more foreigners are making the long trip down to Jyekundo. Jyekundo is a rapidly changing town. The Qinghai government is pouring a lot of money into the town to promote both domestic and foreign tourism. There are several good hotels in town including the newly built 3 star Yushu Hotel (built directly behind the old Yushu Hotel) and the San Jiang Yuan Hotel (located across from the bus station that has buses going to Sichuan).

There are many interesting things to see in Jyekundo. There are 3 large monasteries within 10km / 6 miles of town. The most famous is the hilltop monastery of Jyekundo Dondrubling. Jyekundo Dondrubling monastery is built on a mountain overlooking town. This Sakya sect monastery was built in 1398 and has over 500 monks. Trangu and Domkar monasteries are also close to town. The Gyanak (Jiana) Mani prayer stone temple is located just east of town. It is the largest collection of hand carved prayer stones in Tibet with more than 2 billion prayer stones piled up in a 1 square kilometer area. Pilgrims can be found walking around the site everyday. The famous Tibetan King Songsten Gampo and his wife Princess Wencheng of China passed through the Jyekundo area on their way to Lhasa in the 7th century. A temple was built in their honor. Tens of thousands of prayer flags can be seen flying in this area. The grasslands of Batang, 20km south of Jyekundo, are beautiful in the late spring and summer. A sky burial site is located near these grasslands.

Jyekundo is home to the annual Yushu Horse Festival which begins each year on July 25th. This horse festival is one of the largest in all of Tibet. The population of the town swells during this time. If you can only see one horse festival in Tibet, this is the one to see. Besides seeing horse races, the horse festival features a lot of dancing. The Tibetans from Yushu are considered to be some of the best dancers in all of Tibet.

Jyekundo is a good place to go to see authentic Tibetan culture. With over 85% of the population being Tibetan, finding Tibetans won't be difficult. Though the only way there is by long distance sleeper bus, the trip is well worth it. Many people who have traveled through Tibet list Jyekundo as one of their favorite places. There are several buses everyday departing Xining for Jyekundo. Jyekundo can also be reached from Serxu (Shiqu), Garze (Ganzi) and Chengdu in Sichuan province. An airport just south of town will be opened sometime in 2009.

For more information about Jyekundo and Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture , please send an email to thelandofsnows@gmail.com. More pictures of Jyekundo can be seen here.

Comments

[Adam]

Can we visit Nangchen and travel on to Sichuan?

[Alessandra]

I hear that the Horse festival in Yushu is cancelled this year. Is it true?

[Alessandra]

Hi thanks for sharing this information. How do I get to Yushu from Chengdu? You mentioned that there are connections. Many thanks

[achree]

Hello,

I'm Thai and will go to see the solar eclipse at Sichuan July22th.
are there the horse racing festival at Jeykundo this year? every July25th?

best regards.

[satoshi]

awesome.. I am thinking about going to Kyekundo instead of Lhasa for my summer trip. Do you think it is advisable for me, a 16 year old, and my 17 year old cousin to travel alone there?