Yushu city is the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture capital, comprising six counties under its jurisdiction. It is locally known as Ga Jegudo. Traditionally, it was one of the most famous towns in the Nangchen Kingdom. Ga Jegudo was an important trading hub of the Kham Region.
Ga Jegudo was a town located in the northwest region of Kham and one of the trading centers of Kham, controlling the caravan trails between Xining (Ziling) and Lhasa. Its traditional summer festival has for centuries attracted crowds of itinerant merchants and pilgrims. Merchants imported goods like tea, textiles, metalware, and sugar from China. The products of Tibetan nomadic like fur, hides, wool, and medicinal herbs were exported to China.
In 1727 the area was nominally brought within the sphere of influence of the Kokonor Muslim territory but prior to that, it had held allegiance to the independent kingdom of Nangchen for centuries. Since 1951 the town has been the capital of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous prefecture and has been named Yushu city.
The city is situated in a T-shaped valley surrounded by mountains. It is at an altitude of 3772m. In 2010, Ga Jegudo faced a loss of lives and properties due to a devastating earthquake. Now it’s been fully recovered from the tragic incident.