In the history of Qiang people, where are the Qiang people mainly distributed?

The Qiang people in China are mainly distributed in Mao Wen Qiang Autonomous County, Sichuan Aba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Wenchuan County, Lixian County, Heishui County and Songpan County, among which Mao Wen Qiang Autonomous County is the largest Qiang inhabited area. According to 1990 census, the population of the Qiang nationality is 198252. Qiang language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman language family of Sino-Tibetan language family, which is divided into two dialects: North and South. Except Chibu Soviet Area in Maowen County and Qiang Area in Heishui County, all other Qiang areas are southern dialects. The Qiang people have no written language of their own and have long used Chinese.

Western Sichuan is a place where the Qiang people live in compact communities, and it is located in the high mountain and canyon zone where the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau transits to the Sichuan Basin. Here the peaks overlap and the peaks contend. In history, it is known as "surrounded by mountains". Minshan Mountain, Longmen Mountain and Qionglai Mountain are three major mountain ranges. The main peaks are Jiuding Mountain, Longxue Baoshan and Qianfo Mountain. Among them, Jiuding Mountain is 4982 meters above sea level, and the top of the mountain is covered with snow all year round.

When the rising sun rises, the ice peak and the morning glow under the blue sky reflect each other, which is very spectacular. It is called "Nine Sunrises" and has become one of the scenic spots in the Qiang area. There are many rivers in Qiang area, which are rich in water, big drop and rich in hydraulic resources. The main rivers are Minjiang River and its tributaries Heishui River and Zagunao River, while Suijiang River has tributaries Tumen River, Qingpian River and Baicao River. They belong to Minjiang River and Fujiang River. The Minjiang River was called "Jiang Shui" or "Wenjiang" in ancient times, so it was named because it originated in Fujian. Originated in Gonggangling and Langjialing in Songpan County, it meets at Hongqiao Pass in Songpan, runs through the Qiang area from north to south, with a flow of more than 300 kilometers, then flows out of the Qiang area and enters the western Sichuan plain through Dujiangyan Water Conservancy Project. It is the main river in the Qiang area and the mother river and birthplace of 200,000 Qiang people today. The territory of the Qiang nationality is criss-crossed, with high mountains and deep valleys, high terrain in the northwest and low terrain in the southeast.

The valley bottom is 800-2500m above sea level, and the mountain area is above 3500m above sea level. There are some small alluvial plains along the Minjiang River, Jiangkui River and its tributaries. The mountainside is relatively flat, with layers of terraces. These places have mild climate and fertile soil, which are suitable for planting crops and are the main agricultural producing areas in Qiang areas. There is a natural grassland on the sunny slope of the mountain, especially in summer and autumn. The water plants are rich and warm as spring, which is a good place for grazing cattle and sheep.

Qiang nationality region belongs to monsoon climate, but influenced by the topography of northwest plateau and alpine valley, it presents diversified characteristics and is a typical three-dimensional climate. Generally speaking, the valley below 2500m above sea level has a warm climate, with an annual average temperature of11.5-12.8c and more rainfall than the valley. It is an area where dark coniferous forests, mixed coniferous forests and rare animals and plants grow and multiply. There are only alpine meadows in the mountainous areas above 4000 meters above sea level, which are cold all year round and the annual snow cover period is more than half a year.