Liupanshui () is a city in western

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

province, People's Republic of China. The name Liupanshui combines the first character from the names of each of the city's three constituent counties: Liuzhi, Panzhou, Shuicheng. As a

prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. During the Republican era, many of China' ...

with an area of , Liupanshui had a total population of over 2,830,000 in 2006, making it the second largest in the province, though only 251,900 inhabitants were urban residents. The city is known locally as "The Cool City" or "Cool Capital" due to its low average summer temperature.

History

The general area is significant as the seat of the historic

Yelang Yelang, also Zangke, was an ancient political entity first described in the 3rd century BC in what is now western Guizhou province, China. It was active for over 200 years. The state is known to modern Chinese from the idiom, "Yelang thinks too ...

political entity, a confederation of tribes that dominated parts of modern-day

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

and

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

provinces. The city was established in 1978 as a prefecture-level municipality.

Administrative divisions

Its administratively divided to the following county-level jurisdictions: * District ** Zhongshan District （） **

Shuicheng District Shuicheng () is a district in the west of Guizhou province, China, bordering Yunnan province to the west. It is under the administration of Liupanshui city. Biodiversity Shuicheng is home to two amphibian species that are not known from anywhere ...

（） * Special District **

Liuzhi Special District Liuzhi Special District () is a district of Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. G ...

（） * County-level city ** Panzhou City （）

Ethnic groups

The ''Liupanshui City Ethnic Gazetteer'' () (2003:139, 154, 160) lists the following ethnic groups and their respective locations. *Bai **Pan County (pop. 16,829): in Jiuying (), Gaotun (), Yangchangba (), Luna (), Shahe () **Shuicheng County (pop. 6,711): in Longchang (), Yingpan () *Gelao **Liuzhi Special District (pop. 8,128): in Langdai (), Xinhua (), Duoque () **Shuicheng County (pop. 1,862): in (), (), (), (), () *Shui **

Pan County Panzhou () is a county-level city in southwestern Guizhou province, China, on the border with Yunnan province to the west. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Liupanshui. Administrative divisions As of 2017, Panzhou is ...

(pop. 3,519): in () **Shuicheng County (pop. 4,211): in Fa'er

Climate

Transportation

Rail

Liupanshui is a major rail hub in southwestern China. The Shanghai-Kunming, Liupanshui-Baiguo and Neijiang-Kunming Railways intersect in the city.

Air

The city is served by

Liupanshui Yuezhao Airport Liupanshui Yuezhao Airport is an airport serving the city of Liupanshui in western Guizhou Province, China. It is located in Yuezhao Township, Zhongshan District and Dongdi Township, Shuicheng County, 15 kilometers from the city center by road ...

Tourism

Tourism in Liupanshui focuses on minority folk culture and

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

landform tourism. This includes the underground lake in Qilin Cave Park (), Danxia Mountain (), about which

Xu Xiake Xu Xiake (, January 5, 1587 – March 8, 1641), born Xu Hongzu (), courtesy name Zhenzhi (), was a Chinese travel writer and geographer of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), known best for his famous geographical treatise, and noted for his bravery ...

, the Chinese travel writer and geographer of the Ming Dynasty, had written. Yushe National Park () includes the Jiucai Ping Scenic Zone (). The flat-topped Jiucai Ping is the tallest mountain in Guizhou Province at about 2900 meters. Jiucai here means "garlic chives," so named because the mountain is famous for its garlic chive blossoms. Other attractions include the sunrise, the sea of clouds, and unusual rock formations. Also notable is the Tiansheng Bridge (), "tiansheng" meaning "god-made." There is also a nature reserve called Shuicheng Francois's Leaf Monkey Nature Reserve ().

Cuisine

Local cuisine includes Yangrou fen () - Lamb rice noodles, and Luoguo yangyu () - Fried potatoes.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Liupanshui is twinned with: *

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, United States

References

{{authority control Cities in Guizhou Pearl River (China) Prefecture-level divisions of Guizhou