Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture

Xiangxi has a long history. The land was sparsely inhabited during the Shang dynasty, through the Warring States period up to the era of the Sui dynasty and Tang dynasty. It fell under the influence of the Chu state during the Warring States era. Later, it became part of the Western and Eastern Han dynasty. After the collapse of the Han dynasty, it came under the control of the Shu dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Then the area became a subject of the Jin dynasty. When the Yuan dynasty was established, the region became a part of the Hubei province. Soon later, Hubei and Hunan province became one single province called Huguang. The Ming dynasty reestablished the Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture and attached it to Hunan province.

Upon the establishment of modern China, the national government gave the region autonomous status and county level status. This meant that the provincial government had less control over the region compared to other counties.

Western Hunan, also known as "Western Hunan Region" or "Western Hunan", is a collective name for the entire "western region of Hunan" including Zhangjiajie City, Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, Huaihua City and the western counties of Shaoyang City (Suining, etc.). This area is surrounded by the two mountains of Wuling and Xuefeng and the Yungui Plateau. It is the place where the upper reaches of Yuanshui and Lishui and their tributaries converge. Economically, this region sometimes includes Zhangjiajie City, Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, Huaihua City, Shaoyang City, Loudi City, as well as Jianghua County and Jiangyong County in Yongzhou City, Shimen County and Taoyuan County in Changde City, Anhua County in Yiyang City, etc. Historically, the western part of Hunan belongs to Qianzhong County, Wuling County, Yuanling County, Chenyuan Yongjing Military Reserve Road, Chenyuan Road, Xiangxi Appeasement Office and Xiangxi Administrative Region. 12

Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture is located in the northwest of Hunan Province, bordered by Sangzhi County and Yongding District of Zhangjiajie City in the northeast; Yuanling County, Chenxi County and Mayang Miao Autonomous County in Huaihua City in the southeast; Songtao Miao Autonomous County in Tongren District, Guizhou Province in the southwest; Xiushan Tujia and Miao Autonomous County in Qianjiang Development Zone, Chongqing in the west. It is adjacent to Laifeng County and Xuanen County, Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hubei Province. The geographical coordinates are 109°10′-110°22.5′ east longitude and 27°44.5′-29°38′ north latitude. The total area of the administrative area is 15,500 square kilometers.

The western Hunan region in a broad sense not only includes Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, but also extends to Zhangjiajie City and Huaihua City, covering an area of 78,700 square kilometers. This area is famous for its rich natural resources and unique national culture, including Wulingyuan, Nanshan National Park, Tianmen Mountain and other famous attractions.

Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture is located in a low-latitude zone and has a humid subtropical monsoon climate. It is characterized by the influence of the topography of the Wuling Mountains: the winter is relatively cold, the summer temperature is high and humid, the spring and summer are wet and rainy, the weather is changeable, the autumn weather turns cooler, the temperature drops, the monsoon is obvious, and the four seasons are distinct. The average temperature for many years is between 16.0~17.0 °C, the average temperature in January is between 4.5~5.2 °C, and the extreme minimum temperature is -15.5 °C (January 30, 1977); the average temperature in July is between 21.9~22.8 °C, and the extreme maximum temperature is 40.6 °C (1959 8 29th of the month). The average annual growth period is 340 days, the annual frost-free period is 282 days, the longest is 340 days, and the shortest is 235 days. The annual sunshine hours are 1151.6~1390.5 hours, and the total annual radiation is 376.6~412.2. Kilojoules/square centimeter. The average annual precipitation is 1284.2~1416.9 mm, and the average annual rainfall days is 171.80 days. The maximum daily precipitation over the years is 344.1 mm, and the minimum daily precipitation over the years is 32.4 mm. Rainfall is concentrated from April to September every year, accounting for 70.8~77.3% of the annual precipitation.

In the sixth national census in 2010, the resident population of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture was 1967,096, accounting for 77.21%. The population of the Tujia family is 1089,301, accounting for 42.75%; the population of the Miao family is 863,141, accounting for 33.88%.

According to the seventh census data, at 00:00 on November 1, 2020, the resident population of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture was 2488,105. Among them, the ethnic minorities dominated by the Tujia and Miao ethnic groups accounted for 80.5%.

By the end of 2022, the total population of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture was 2.902 million, and the resident population was 2.461 million. Among them, the urban population is 1.285 million, and the rural population is 1.176 million. The urbanization rate is 52.21%, an increase of 0.64 percentage points over 2021. The annual number of births in the state is 19,600, with a birth rate of 6.46‰. The annual death toll was 13,500, and the mortality rate was 4.44‰. The annual natural population growth rate is 2.02‰.

In 2022, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture achieved a GDP of 81.75 billion yuan, an increase of 3.8%. Among them, the added value of the primary industry was 12.06 billion yuan, an increase of 3.1%; the added value of the secondary industry was 23.74 billion yuan, an increase of 1.6%; and the added value of the tertiary industry was 45.95 billion yuan, an increase of 5.2%. The added value of the primary industry, the secondary industry and the tertiary industry accounted for 14.7%, 29% and 56.3% of the gross domestic product respectively, of which the industrial added value accounted for 23.1% of the gross domestic product. First, the contribution rate of the second and tertiary industries to economic growth is 12.6%, 12.2% and 75.2% respectively; the contribution rate of industry to economic growth is 5.9%. The added value of high-tech industries was 7.15 billion yuan, an increase of 6.3%, accounting for 8.7% of GDP.

Ever since the reforms by Deng Xiaoping,^[when?] the region has developed substantially. The introduction of a large number of advanced production equipment and various types of automated production factories accelerated the growth of industries. In 2008, the total production value totaled 22,666 billion yuan.

Agricultural products such as rice, wheat, corn, soybeans, electricity, cement, wood, cigarettes, fertilizers, yarn and cloth became primary products.

The current CPC party secretary of the autonomous prefecture is Guo Zhenggui, and the current mayor is Long Xiaohua.

• List of township-level divisions of Hunan