Zigui County

Zigui County (simplified Chinese: 秭归县; traditional Chinese: 秭歸縣; pinyin: Zǐguī Xiàn) is a county of western Hubei province, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yichang and encompasses the easternmost portion of the Yangtze River Gorges, including the Xiling Gorge.

In the Xiling Gorge in the western part of Zigui County

Zigui County 秭归县 Tzekwei
County
Part of the town of Maoping, the county seat
Zigui Location in Hubei
Coordinates (Zigui government): 30°49′34″N 110°58′41″E
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Hubei
Prefecture-level city	Yichang
Area [1]
• Total	2,427 km2 (937 sq mi)
Population  (2020)[2]
• Total	299,642
• Density	120/km2 (320/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
Website	www.zigui.gov.cn

Zigui County
Traditional Chinese	秭歸縣
Simplified Chinese	秭归县
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zǐguī Xiàn Wade–Giles Tzu3-kuei1 Hsien4
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	秭歸
Simplified Chinese	秭归
Postal	Tzukwei
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zǐguī Wade–Giles Tzu3-kuei1

The county seat of Zigui is now the town of Maoping (茅坪镇; Máopíng Zhèn), situated a few kilometers west of the Three Gorges Dam on the high southern shore of the river. The original Zigui town was upstream to the west and was abandoned and submerged under the rising waters of the reservoir in the early years of the 21st century. As it is common in China, Maoping is typically labelled as "Zigui County" (秭归县) or simply "Zigui" (秭归) on most maps.

Administrative divisions

Eight towns:^[1][3][4]

• Maoping (茅坪镇), Guizhou (归州镇), Quyuan [zh] (屈原镇), Shazhenxi (沙镇溪镇), Lianghekou (两河口镇), Guojiaba (郭家坝镇), Yanglinqiao (杨林桥镇), Jiuwanxi (九畹溪镇)

Four townships:

• Shuitianba Township (水田坝乡), Xietan Township (泄滩乡), Meijiahe Township (梅家河乡), Moping Township (磨坪乡)

Climate

Climate data for Zigui, elevation 296 m (971 ft), (1991–2020 normals)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	8.7 (47.7)	11.6 (52.9)	17.3 (63.1)	23.1 (73.6)	26.7 (80.1)	30.0 (86.0)	32.3 (90.1)	31.8 (89.2)	27.5 (81.5)	22.1 (71.8)	16.6 (61.9)	10.9 (51.6)	21.5 (70.8)
Daily mean °C (°F)	5.0 (41.0)	7.4 (45.3)	11.9 (53.4)	17.3 (63.1)	21.3 (70.3)	24.9 (76.8)	27.0 (80.6)	26.5 (79.7)	22.8 (73.0)	17.6 (63.7)	12.4 (54.3)	7.1 (44.8)	16.8 (62.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	2.5 (36.5)	4.4 (39.9)	8.2 (46.8)	13.2 (55.8)	17.4 (63.3)	21.2 (70.2)	23.6 (74.5)	23.1 (73.6)	19.5 (67.1)	14.6 (58.3)	9.5 (49.1)	4.5 (40.1)	13.5 (56.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	24.5 (0.96)	39.9 (1.57)	57.8 (2.28)	113.3 (4.46)	143.7 (5.66)	162.0 (6.38)	238.9 (9.41)	219.6 (8.65)	123.5 (4.86)	103.6 (4.08)	50.2 (1.98)	20.2 (0.80)	1,297.2 (51.09)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm)	8.4	9.6	11.5	12.7	14.4	13.8	17.1	14.9	12.5	11.9	10.1	8.0	144.9
Average snowy days	4.0	2.3	0.3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.2	1.3	8.1
Average relative humidity (%)	73	73	72	73	76	78	81	80	78	79	78	73	76
Mean monthly sunshine hours	79.8	81.1	121.9	145.0	148.7	144.9	169.6	181.3	125.4	111.3	105.7	90.7	1,505.4
Percentage possible sunshine	25	26	33	37	35	34	40	45	34	32	34	29	34
Source: China Meteorological Administration[5][6]

Tourism

A good view of the Three Gorges Dam, and of an ancillary dam further south, can be had from Maoping's riverside parks.

Economy

Most of Zigui is hilly or mountainous with basic farming and tea production. There are many small coal mines in the mountains, with the coal trucked to the river then loaded onto barges for shipping downstream.

Transportation

Funiculars take passengers down to the boats at the Maoping Town dock

Passenger boats and ferries travelling up and down the river can dock at the large passenger dock ("Zigui Harbor", 秭归港) at Maoping, or at Taipingxi Town on the north bank close to the Dam. Frequent bus service connects Maoping with the center city of Yichang to the east; there is also bus service to most towns in the county, as well as to the neighboring counties.

External links

• "131 ancient Chinese 'hanging' coffins found on side of 100m cliff near Three Gorges Dam". South China Morning Post. 15 December 2015. Archived from the original on December 16, 2015.