Located in eastern Tibet,the Chamdo Prefecture, tucked away in the Henduan Mountains and dissected by the Jinshajiang, Lancanjiang and Nujiang rivers, covers an area of 108,600 square km. On its eastern side lies Sichuan, with Yunnan to the south and Qinghai in the north.

Now it administers 11 counties: Chamdo, Gyamda, Gongjo, Riwoqe, Dingqen, Chagyab, Baxoi, Zogang, Mangkang, Lhorong and Palbar (Yanjing, Senda, Togba and Bitug have been approved by the State Council, but haven't been set up yet), 13 districts, nine towns, 168 townships (including nine towns) and 1,622 administrative villages. Twenty-one ethnic groups including Tibetan, Han (Chinese), Hui, Zhuang, Naxi, Lhoba, Monba and Bai live here. The total population is over 550,000, of which 98.26 percent are Tibetan.