Xikang 西康省

Xikang or Sikang (Chinese:西康省; pinyin:Xīkāng Shěng) was a province of the ***************** comprising most of the Kham region of traditional *****, where the Khampa, a subgroup of the *****an people, live. The eastern part of the province was inhabited by a number of different ethnic groups, such as Han Chinese, Yi, Qiang people and *****an, while the western part of the province was inhabited by *****ans. Xikang, then known as Chuanbian (川邊), was a special administrative region of the ***************** until 1939, when it became an official province. The provincial capital was Kangding from 1939 to 1951 and Ya'an from 1951 to 1955. The province had a population of some 3.4 million in 1954.