Introduction to Luding: Luding County is located in the southeast of Erlang Mountain in the west of Sichuan Province and southeast of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It is bordered between the Lushan Mountain Range and the Daxue Mountain Range. The Dadu River runs from north to south. It is connected to Shimian County in the east and is located at 101°46′-102°25′ east longitude and 29°54′-30°10′ north latitude. It is 69.2 kilometers long from north to south and 49.9 kilometers wide from east to west. The total area of the county is 2165.35 square kilometers (excluding the area of disputed area is 198.48 square kilometers). The county governs 4 towns and 8 townships, 57 village committees, and is home to 14 ethnic groups including Han, Tibetan, Yi, Hui, Yi, Meng, Miao and Naxi, with a total of 77,039 people (end of 2001). The Sichuan-Tibet Highway crosses the northeast and is the main throat of the Sichuan-Tibet Highway. It is known as the Dongdaemun of Ganzi Prefecture.