Dan Geer, Tea-horse Commercial City

Dan Geer, the old town, translated from the Tibetan “Dong keer”, with the meaning of “white conch”, is established in Hongwu years of MingDynasty which has 600 years of history till now. It is an important economic and cultural hub ,a military transport center of the west, and also one of historic cities of China. The layout of old Dan Geer city is rigorous, faint alleys, unique courtyard, magnificent temples, preserved "rest home" name, different styles of Huangyuan row of lights, all loaded with multiple cultural information, reflected the strong local characteristics.

In order to keep the culture of ancient city, promote the cultural development of the tourism industry, according to the unique geographical location and rich culture in Huangyuan County, following the "repair old as the old" principle, to develop the Dan Gar ancient city protectively.

The city of Dan Geer is the trading center of tea and horses. It is the fortress of the Silk Road, and the inn of the Tangfan Old Road. In Kaiyuan 23 years of the Tang Dynasty, the Tibetan Plateau established the first " trading market of tea and horses" in the Riyue hill. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the trading center has gradually moved to the Dan Geer which was the largest trading post of the northwest. Traders and workmen from Beijing、Tianjin、Shanxi、Shaanxi and Gansu all poured in and some foreign merchants from Britain、the US、Russia and Germany all started to develop their business and trade,while forming the "Zangke"(traders in charge of commodity transaction along the Tang Bo ancient course) with footprints all over Tibet、Xinjiang、Gansu、Shaanxi、Shanxi、Hebei、Tianjin、India and Nepal opening up the road of Tibetan traders. In 1924 the business and trade peaked-over 1,000 handicraft industry and businesses of all sizes containing over 5,000 practitioners with a total trade of over 5 million teals of silver. It also has the name of “the throat of Qinghai and Tibetan ” and “the trading center of tea and horses ”.