Xinping County Overview

This is the Xinping overview. Yuxi Xinping, about 180 kilometers away from Kunming, is a pearl of Ailao Mountain. The part that surrounded by the Honghe River is the Gasa area, which is inhabited with romantic Huayaodai ethnic minority. The Huayao Village under the Ailao Mountain is a good place to learn about folk culture. The National Geographic magazine named Xinping County as one of the “Top 10 Yunnan Provinces in China's Most Beautiful Scenic Areas”. The county's Great Betel Garden Village was also rated as “Top 30 Charming Villages in Yunnan ”.

1.Basic information

Chineses name: 新平

Location: Middle of Yunnan 

Language: Southwestern Mandarin - Yunnan Dialect

Population: 274,005

Nationalities: Han, Yi, Miao, Hui

Area: 4223 square kilometers

Zip code: 653400

Area code: 0877

2.Geographical Location

Xinping Yi and Dai Autonomous County (referred to as Xinping County) is a county under the jurisdiction of Yuxi City. Xinping County is adjacent to Weishan County, bordering Shiping County in the southeast, Yuanjiang County in the south, Mojiang County in the southwest, Zhenyu County in the west, and Shuangbai County in the north. It is 180 kilometers away from Kunming City and 90 kilometers away from Yuxi City.

3.Introduction

The Ailao Mountains stretch for hundreds of miles, and the creator has left many gorgeous sceneneries in Xinping. From the lowest elevation of 422 meters to 3165 meters, there are rare birds and beasts, exotic flowers and plants, flowing springs and waterfalls, and the mountains dotted with them. People live in harmony with nature. The county has a maximum horizontal distance of 102 km, a maximum vertical distance of 88.2 km, a total area of 4223 square km, a total land area of 6.413 million mu, 24.5 mu per capita.

4.History

Xinping has a long history. Four or five thousand years ago, it was a place where the Qiang, Pu and Yue tribes lived separately in the ancient time in southwest. During the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Periods, the upper reaches of the Honghe River was a tribal area where the Pu people lived. The production technology of the ancestors of all ethnic groups had been greatly improved and bronze ware had been used. In the Ming Dynasty (1591 A.D.), Deng Zilong named it as Xinping because he used force to pacify the people of Pingdian against Ming. In November 25, 1980, Xinping Yi and Dai Autonomous County was established.

5.Administrative Division

By the end of 2013, Xinping County had jurisdiction over 2 subdistricts, and 10 towns.

GuishanSubdistrict(桂山街道 ), Gucheng Subdistrict(古城街道), Yangwu Town(扬武镇), Mosha Town(漠沙镇), Gasa Town(戛洒镇), Shuitang(水塘镇), Pingding Town(平甸乡), Xinhua Town(新化乡), Jianxing Town(建兴乡) , Laochang Town (老厂乡), Zhelong Town (者竜乡), Pingzhang Town(平掌乡).      

6.Ethnic Groups

There are 17 ethnic groups in the county. There are 8 ethnic groups live there all the time, which are Yi, Dai, Han, Hani, Lahu, Hui, Miao and Bai.

7.Climate

The terrain of Xinping County is mainly mountainous, with an area of 4139.6 square kilometers in the county. The terrain is high in the northwest and low in the southeast. The highest elevation of the Ailao Mountain is 3165.9 meters, and the lowest elevation is 422 meters in the South Artemisia Village. Xinping County is a temperate climate zone. The local climate is affected by altitude, forming three climate types: high temperature zone, semi-mountain warm zone and alpine cold zone. The annual average temperature is 18.1 °C, the annual maximum temperature is 32.8 °C, the annual minimum temperature is 1.3 °C, the annual precipitation is 869 mm, and the total sunshine hours are 2838.7 hours. The frost-free period is 316 days.

8.Best time to visit

A trip to Xinping is recommended in Spring and Autumn as Summer rains frequently which result in a bad condition of roads.

9.Transportation

The transportation of Xinping is relatively developed compared to other cities in Yunnan. You can get there by different ways. There are planes, long-distance buses, trains, taxis, buses and minibus for people to get out and around. The annual transport capacity of passengers and freight reached 1.2 million and 8.5 million respectively. The post and telecom industry took a step forward. You can choose minibus or long-distance bus to go to Hongta District in Yuxi, and buses depart to Kunming everyday. In addition, the railway connect Xinping and Kunming is under construction.

10.Dining

Xinping is abundant in local dishes and delicacies. The eating habits of Han People is influenced by those ethnic groups in Huaning county, especially Yi and Dai people. In the county, you can taste many delicious local food, like Mosha Fried field snail, Yaonan ham, Xinping pickled fish and  so on.

11.Top Attractions

There are some attractions in Xinping County for people to visit, which are Chu Orange Manor and Longxi Li Clan Manor, Longquan Park, Shimen Gorge, Nanen Waterfall, Damoyan Peak of Ailaoshan Mountain Range, Guzhou Wild Forest and Mopanshan National Forest Park and Guzhou Ancient Tea Horse Road.