From Wikitravel

Aba Tibetan & Qiang Autonomous Prefecture (阿坝藏族羌族自治州; Ābà Zàngzú Qiāngzú Zìzhìzhōu) is in Sichuan province.

Regions

Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture is located in the north-west of Sichuan Province, P.R.C., at the upper reaches of the Changjiang River and the Yellow River, with an area of 84,200 square kilometres. Under its jurisdiction, there are 13 counties.

• Aba
• Barkam
• Heishui
• Hongyuan
• Jinchuan
• Lixian
• Maoxian
• Nanping
• Rangtang
• Ruoergai
• Songpan
• Wenchuan
• Xiaojin

Other destinations

Aba Prefecture contains 3 of the 6 World Natural Heritage Sites in the whole of China, making Aba the premier destination in China for nature-based and ecotourism. There is also great cultural diversity, with a majority Tibetan population, elaborate Tibetan Buddhist temples (e.g. Langmusi on the border with Gansu), picturesque grasslands and beautiful mountain scenery. There is also a significant Qiang minority population (particularly in Maoxian county) The 3 world natural heritage sites are: Jiuzhai Valley National Park (UNESCO World Natural Heritage) Huanglong National Park (UNESCO World Natural Heritage) Suguniangshan National Park (UNESCO World Panda Reserve) other national parks include: Muni Valley national park Baihe Golden Monkey Reserve Wanglang National Park

Understand

Within Aba, there is a diversity of ethnic minority groups, including Tibetan (52.3%), Han (26.7%), Qiang (17.7%) and Muslim (3.2%).

• Huanglong National Park
• Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve
• Wolong Nature Reserve - sanctuary for endangered pandas

Do

The Zang Mii Tibetan Opera cultural performance hall, located in Zhang Zha township of Jiuzhaigou county, hosts nightly (outside of winter) spectacular and elaborate performances which tell a story of a pilgrim's journey in an intimate and entertaining, colourful and exciting way. The theme of the opera has deep cultural meaning and significance and conveys a proud sense of the Tibetan people and their beliefs.

Eat

Try the Tibetan round baked walnut bread ('hetao da bing') or the delicious round-baked cake-like bread baked by the Hui Muslim minorities in Songpan and Wenchuan