甘南藏族自治州位于青藏高原东北边缘、甘青川三省交汇地带。全州总面积4.5万平方公里，总人口66.54万人，有以藏族为主的35个民族。

甘南是国家重要的生态安全屏障。这里是黄河、长江上游重要的水源涵养区、补给区，素有“高原之肾”和“中华水塔”之称，也是国家首批生态文明先行示范区。境内平均海拔在3000米以上，草原综合植被盖度达到97.14%，森林覆盖率达到17.81%，湿地面积637.57万亩，是全国五大牧区和九大重点林区之一。甘南是极具吸引力的高原生态旅游胜地。这里是首批国家全域旅游示范区创建单位，有冶力关国家5A级景区等A级以上景区40处，被国内外权威旅游评级机构评定为“让生命感受自由的世界50个户外天堂”“梦幻之旅·人一生中要去的50个地方”“中国最具特色旅游目的地”。甘南是中华民族重要的文化宝库。这里是古丝绸之路“唐蕃古道”的重要通道、汉藏文化的结合部、农耕文明向游牧文明的过渡区、青藏高原和黄土高原的交汇区，历史文化、民族文化、宗教文化、民俗文化、红色文化、生态文化交相辉映。齐家、仰韶、马家窑、寺洼等文化遗存非常丰富，临潭磨沟遗址入选“2008年度全国十大考古新发现”，夏河丹尼索瓦人研究入选“2019年世界十大考古发现”。

甘南是自然资源富集区。矿产资源得天独厚，已发现各种矿产地290处，矿种45种，已开发利用矿种15种，黄金储量全省第二。唐古特大黄、黄芪、党参等中藏药材品质优良，市场前景十分广阔，冬虫夏草、羊肚菌等山野珍品种类繁多。甘南是西北重要的畜产品生产加工基地。拥有草地2649.25万亩，被誉为亚洲最优质的天然牧场，优良畜种有牦牛、欧拉羊、甘加羊、蕨麻猪等。“中国牦牛乳都”品牌享誉全国。甘南是我国重要的清洁能源生产基地。境内雨量充沛，江河密布，水能资源十分丰富，黄河、大夏河、洮河、白龙江及其120多条支流纵横全境，风能、太阳能等清洁能源资源极其丰富，光电资源开发前景十分可观。

甘南是我国生物多样性的活标本库。有林地1820.38万亩，林区蕴藏着极其丰富的野生动物资源和药材、山珍野菜等植物资源，有国家重点保护野生动物145种，野生林木植物1820种，具有药用价值的野生植物643种，有极高的开发利用价值。

Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is located on the northeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, at the junction of Gansu, Qinghai and Sichuan provinces. It covers a total area of 45,000 square kilometers with a population of 665,400 people from 35 ethnic groups, predominantly Tibetan.

Gannan serves as a crucial national ecological security barrier. As an important water conservation and recharge area for the upper reaches of the Yellow River and Yangtze River, it is renowned as the "Kidney of the Plateau" and "China's Water Tower". It was also among China's first batch of National Ecological Civilization Pilot Zones. With an average elevation over 3,000 meters, the prefecture features comprehensive grassland vegetation coverage reaching 97.14%, forest coverage of 17.81%, and wetlands spanning 6.3757 million mu, making it one of China's five major pastoral regions and nine key forest zones.

Gannan is a highly attractive plateau ecotourism destination. As one of China's first National All-for-One Tourism Demonstration Zones, it hosts 40 A-level or above scenic spots including the 5A-rated Yeliguan National Scenic Area. Internationally recognized travel authorities have honored it as "One of the World's 50 Outdoor Paradises Where Life Meets Freedom", "Dream Destination: 50 Places to Visit in a Lifetime", and "China's Most Distinctive Tourist Destination".

Gannan represents a significant cultural treasury of the Chinese nation. It served as a vital passage along the ancient Tang-Tibet Road of the Silk Road, a convergence point of Han and Tibetan cultures, a transition zone between agricultural and nomadic civilizations, and where the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau meets the Loess Plateau. The region boasts rich historical, ethnic, religious, folk, revolutionary and ecological cultures, with abundant relics from Qijia, Yangshao, Majiayao and Siwa civilizations. The Mogou Site in Lintan County was listed among "China's Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries of 2008", while research on Xiahe Denisovans entered the "World's Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries of 2019".

Gannan is abundant in natural resources. It possesses 290 mineral sites with 45 mineral types, 15 of which are commercially exploited, ranking second in gold reserves in Gansu Province. The region produces premium Tibetan and Chinese medicinal herbs including Tangut rhubarb, astragalus and Codonopsis with excellent market potential, along with various wild delicacies like cordyceps and morel mushrooms.

Gannan serves as a key livestock production and processing base in northwest China. With 26.4925 million mu of grassland acclaimed as Asia's finest natural pasture, it breeds superior livestock species including yaks, Oula sheep, Ganjia sheep and Juema pigs. Its "China Yak Milk Capital" brand enjoys nationwide reputation.

Gannan is an important clean energy production base in China. The prefecture has abundant rainfall, dense river networks and rich hydropower resources, with the Yellow River, Daxia River, Tao River, Bailong River and over 120 tributaries crisscrossing the region. It also possesses extremely rich wind and solar energy resources with tremendous potential for photovoltaic development.

Gannan represents a living specimen bank of China's biodiversity. Its 18.2038 million mu of forest area contains exceptionally rich wildlife resources and medicinal/edible wild plants, including 145 nationally protected wildlife species, 1,820 wild woody plant species, and 643 medicinal wild plants with high development value.