Derge county guide

Derge is located at the northwest of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, 588km from Kangding and 954km from Chengdu. In the history, it had been the capital of Derge Kingdom that once ruled the whole northern Kham Region. The Derge royal family claimed to be derived from Gar Thongtsen, a minister of the Tibet King Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century. At about 1700, the kingdom's political power had reached to the summit, and its culture had been widely spread throughout much of Kham. A Tibetan historian said that the area of Derge today is only one fifth of the Derge Kingdom. Now Derge belongs to the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province.