Tianzhu, which is called Huarui in Tibetan and means hero tribe, is a county under the jurisdiction of Wuwei City, Gansu Province. Tianzhu Autonomous Region (county level) was established in 1950 and changed to Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County in 1955. It is the first national minority autonomous county named by Premier Zhou Enlai and the first region to implement regional ethnic autonomy after the founding of the People's Republic of China. As of December 2020, Tianzhu County has jurisdiction over 14 towns, 5 townships, 178 administrative villages, 20 neighborhood committees, 28 ethnic groups including Tibet, Han, Tu, Hui, and Mongolia, with a total registered residence population of 230000, of which ethnic minorities account for 37.1% of the total population, and Tibetans account for 81.7% of the minority population.

Tianzhu County is located at the eastern end of the Hexi Corridor, at the northeast edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and is known as the "gateway" of the Hexi Corridor. It borders Lanzhou in the south, Jingtai in the east, Gulang in the north, Qinghai in the west, Sunan in the northwest, 140 kilometers from Lanzhou, 100 kilometers from Zhongchuan Airport, and 200 kilometers from Caojiabao Airport. Wushaoling, located in the middle of the county, runs from east to west, and is the throat of the ancient Silk Road. Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway, G30 Expressway, G312 National Highway and the Lanzhou-Zhangjiakou No.3-4 high-speed railway under construction run through the whole country.

Tianzhu has a profound cultural heritage. It has been a pastoral area for Rong, Qiang, Yueshi, Xiongnu and other nationalities since the beginning of the Xia and Han dynasties. It has been included in the territory of the Han Dynasty since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. After the Tang Dynasty, it has gradually formed a multi-ethnic settlement with Tubo (now Tibetan) as the main nationality. The Paradise Temple has the largest wooden statue of Zongkaba in Asia, the Dalong Temple is the "Baoen Temple" granted by the Kangxi Emperor, the Shimen Temple is the monastery of Tsangyang Gyatso in Xiguo, and the Dongda Temple contains the only large-scale mural of Journey to the West found in the country; "Huarui Tibetan Folk Songs" and "Tu Gesar" are listed in the national intangible cultural heritage protection list; There are Wushaoling Great Wall, Songshan Ancient City, Lijiazhuang Han Tombs, Chakouyi Ancient Castle and other historic sites in the territory, among which Wushaoling Great Wall is the highest section of the Great Wall at the highest altitude and is a provincial cultural relics protection unit.