The location of Xiahe County is very superior. In history, it used to be the political, economic, cultural and religious center of Gansu, Qinghai and Sichuang Province. Xiahe County lies in the southwest of Gansu Province, northwest of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. The longitude is 102 degrees and 31 minutes and the latitude is 35 degrees and 12 minutes. The total area of this county occupies 6273.88 square kilometers, including one rural and 14 towns.

There are 14 nationals, such as Tibetan, Han, Hui, Salar, Dongxiang, Mongolia, and North Korea and so on. The total population is 77,800, which accounts for 78% of the Tibetan population. In the east of Xiahe County, there is a famous temple called Labrang Monastery. It belongs to one of the six sovereign temples of the Tibetan Buddhism Glugpa. Therefore, Labrang Monastery is well-known as the “Orient Vatican”.