Yushu is a town in Qinghai Province.

Yushu is in the traditional Amdo Area. It is a multi-ethnic town. The inhabitants are mostly Tibetan while most merchants are Han Chinese. The area has a population of over 250,000. Yushu is in fact in Kham, not Amdo. Although it is outside the Tibet Autonomous Region, it is clearly Tibetan, albeit increasingly flooded with Chinese incomes.

Full Name: Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture 

Population: 270,000  

Area: 198,000 square kilometers (76,448 square miles) 

Nationalities: Tibetan 

Administrative Division: 6 counties: Yushu (Gyegu), Zaduo (Zadoi), Chengduo (Chindu), Zhiduo (Zhidoi), Nangqian (Nangqen), Qumalai (Qumarleb)  

Seat of the Prefecture Government: 14, Minzhu Lu, Jiegu Town, Yushu County

Useful Telephone Numbers: Tourist Complaints: 0976-8822521
                                          Weather Forecast: 121
                                          Zip Code Inquiry: 184

China Post Yushu Branch: 99, Shengli Lu, Jiegu Town, Yushu County

Location: Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is situated in the southwest region of Qinghai Province, neighboring Sichuan in the southeast, Xinjiang in the northwest corner and Tibet in the south and southeast. Within Qinghai, it is bounded on the north by the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and neighbors the Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the east.

History: Yushu was inhabited by the Qiang, an ancient tribe in northwest China. In its history, it was governed successively by several Tibetan regimes. Yushu Special District was established in 1949 and changed to Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Region two years later, then changed to an autonomous prefecture in 1955.
 
Physical Features: The prefecture is situated on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau with most of the region 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) above the sea level. It is the fountainhead of the Yangtze River, the Yellow River and the Lancang River. Ravines and valleys have been cut by the rivers in southeastern Yushu.