Huzhu

The Huzhu Tu Autonomous County is located in the east part of Qinghai Province, with an area of 3321 km2 and the population of 390,000, among which Tu covers about 17 percent of the total population. The Weiyuan Township, the capital of the county, is 40 kilometers away from Xining. At an average elevation of 2700 meters above sea level, the climate in Huzhu is a typical continental one. The long sunshine and short frost-free period (about 130 days) are the main characteristics of climate. The annual average temperature is 50C. The average precipitation of the year is 618.4 millimeters.

Elevation and climate mean that the locals are mainly engaged in farming with animal husbandry as a secondary form of live hood. As one of the major agricultural counties of Qinghai Province, wheat, barley, bean, pea, potato and rape are their main agricultural crops. The white yak is the good animal species. Huzhu is abundant in natural resources. Coal, pyrite, gold, graphite, quartz, mica, gypsum, limestone, etc, are the main minerals among which plaster, limestone, and quartzite have a large reserves. The supply of water resources is also advantageous. The Huangshui River and the Datong River are the two main rivers flowing through the county, which is beneficial to the local people.