Study On The Hui And Tibetan Border Area Of Amdo Tibetan Areas Traditional Settlement And Vernacular Architecture In Xiahe County

China is a country with vast territory, long history and multiple ethnics. Even within a single ethnic group, there might be different customs and cultures, because of geographical diversity. Therefore, traditional architectures can be also varies around.As part of the Amdo Tibetan region, the Hui and Tibetan contiguous area is located on the cross border between Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, where the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Loess Plateau connect. Due to the unique geographical environment and their religious believe, local Tibetan has formed their own customs and aesthetic taste, which is fully reflected in their residential constructions.In this paper, the author takes the Tibetan traditional residential settlement in the Hui and Tibetan contiguous area as a study object, analyzes and classifies local Tibetan traditional settlement buildings according to their environmental adaptability, geographical and cultural characteristics. To accomplish this paper, the author adopts varies study methods including field research to collect data for mapping, comparative method, and typology etc.This paper can be divided into six parts. In the first part, the author defines the scope of the Amdo Tibetan region, and selects certain research methods. Secondly, the author introduces its unique natural environment, folk culture and characteristics of residential buildings. Thirdly, the author illustrates the space patterns of the Tibetan traditional settlement, and its origins from the aspects of natural ecology and socio-culture. Fourthly, with the mapping data collected from field research, the author conducts a comprehensive analysis from the aspects of the residential layout, facade decorations and the structure system. Fifthly, the author checks and summarizes previous research results in this field, and further enriches his own research contents.Based on the above, in the last part of this paper, the author raises some concerns about the development of the Tibetan traditional residential settlement, and contributes some feasible strategies to its further development.