Xunhua Incident

The Xunhua Incident (Chinese: 循化事件) was an uprising of Salars and Tibetans against the policies of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Qinghai, China in April 1958. It took place in the Xunhua Salar Autonomous County, hometown of the 10th Panchen Lama, during the Great Leap Forward. In March 1958, local officials imposed strict rules for socialist transformations. To prevent uprisings, religious leaders such as Jnana Pal Rinpoche (加乃化仁波切), a well-respected monk, were forcibly sent for re-education. Over 4,000 people with different ethnic backgrounds subsequently revolted and killed a team leader from the CCP task force. The uprising ended after the People's Liberation Army massacred 435 people, most of whom were unarmed civilians, on April 25, and 2,499 more rioters were arrested.