Get to know Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County
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- Administrative area
- Autonomous county · 自治县
- Part of
- Chongqing
- Chinese name
- 石柱土家族自治县
- Local areas
- Autonomous county guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 3,012.51 km²
- Population · 2020 census
- 389,001
- Administrative seat
- Nanbin Subdistrict
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
History
A county was first set up here in 619, the second year of the Tang Wude reign, and the State Council approved the autonomous county in 1983. Shizhu is the home of Qin Liangyu (秦良玉), whom the county government calls the only heroine recorded in China's official dynastic histories, and it is where the folk song "The Sun Comes Out Bright and Happy" (太阳出来喜洋洋) comes from. The Ba salt road (巴盐古道) and the old Yinxing Hall temple (银杏堂) are among its historic sites. Three Tujia traditions are on the national intangible-heritage list: luo'er tunes (土家啰儿调), the "playing the ox" performance (玩牛) and the building of stilt houses (吊脚楼).
What to see
Xituo Ancient Town (西沱古镇) was once called Xijietuo (西界沱), the "western boundary of Bazhou (巴州)", and takes its name from a backwater pool on the south bank of the Yangtze. It faces Shibaozhai (石宝寨) across the river and marks the start of the Ba salt road. In 2003 it was named in the first group of ten China historic and cultural towns, and Tujia ox performances and salt-carrying shows are staged there.
The Huangshui resort (黄水旅游度假区) in Huangshui town sits at an average of 1,500 metres and includes the Dafengbao (大风堡) primeval forest. It became a national tourism resort in June 2024, the third in Chongqing, and stages the Tujia song-and-dance show Tianshang Huangshui (天上黄水).
Food and local products
Three mountain crops are grown here: red chillies for seasoning, golden coptis root (黄连) for Chinese medicine, and green water shield (莼菜), an aquatic vegetable. The county is called China's home of coptis and of chillies, and the county government describes it as the largest water-shield producer in China. The coptis production system (黄连生产系统) is listed as an important agricultural heritage system of China.
Setting and landscape
Three quarters of the county lies between 800 and 1,900 metres. The county government presents it as a link between the southeastern and northeastern parts of Chongqing and a pivot for joint development with Hubei (湖北).
Highlights
- Xituo Ancient Town 西沱古镇: Yangtze town facing Shibaozhai, start of the Ba salt road, one of the first ten China historic and cultural towns (2003).
- Huangshui resort 黄水旅游度假区: Upland resort at about 1,500 metres with the Dafengbao forest; national tourism resort since 2024.
- Water shield 莼菜: Aquatic vegetable; the county government calls Shizhu China's largest producer.
- Tujia luo'er tunes 土家啰儿调: National intangible heritage.
Sources for this guide
石柱概况 _ 石柱概况 _ 石柱土家族自治县人民政府 · Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County People's Government
西沱古镇 _ 玩在石柱 _ 石柱土家族自治县人民政府 · Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County People's Government
黄水旅游度假区 _ 玩在石柱 _ 石柱土家族自治县人民政府 · Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County People's Government
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-25.
Explore Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County
AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非该地点实拍）Xituo Ancient Town西沱古镇
Xituo Ancient Town, originally called Xijietuo, is a Yangtze port town in Shizhu County built as the water-land transfer point of the ancient Ba Salt Road, where salt from inland Sichuan was carried overland into what is now western Hubei. Its main street, Yuntishu ('Cloud Ladder Street'), runs straight up the hillside from the river rather than along the bank, a layout local sources call unique among Yangtze towns.
Read the place guide →
Huangshui and Dafengbao Forest Area · 黄水与大风堡Huangshui and Dafengbao Forest Area黄水与大风堡
Huangshui and Dafengbao are a highland forest area and adjoining nature reserve in Shizhu County, centred on Huangshui town at an average elevation of 1,500 metres. Dafengbao Nature Reserve holds more than 2,170 vascular plant species, and the Southwest Commercial News describes the Huangshui resort zone that adjoins both sites as one of the last remaining habitats of the rare metasequoia; the area has been a centre of cultivated Coptis (huanglian), a medicinal herb, for over a thousand years.
Read the place guide →Local life & food
Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County local specialties
石柱土家族自治县特色美食 · 6 specialties to discover
Shizhu Water Shield Soup 石柱莼菜汤AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Shizhu Water Shield Soup (石柱莼菜汤) is a broth of water shield (莼菜), a perennial plant of the water-lily group grown on the Huangshui (黄水) plateau of Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County (石柱土家族自治县) in Chongqing.
Read the dish guide →
Tujia Hanging Pot 土家吊锅AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Tujia Hanging Pot (土家吊锅) is listed among the local specialties of Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County, Chongqing. It is grouped here with hotpots & shared pots; retain the complete Chinese name when comparing local menus.
Read the dish guide →
Shizhu Smoked Cured Pork 石柱腊肉
Shizhu Smoked Cured Pork (石柱腊肉) is the salt-cured, wood-smoked pork of Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County (石柱土家族自治县) in Chongqing, made with the traditional Tujia (土家) wood-fire smoking method.
Read the dish guide →
Photo adjustments
EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Tujia Zajiu Sipping Wine 土家咂酒AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Tujia Zajiu Sipping Wine (土家咂酒) is a grain wine of the Tujia (土家) people of Shizhu (石柱) in the Wuling Mountains (武陵山区) of Chongqing, drunk by sucking it from the jar through small bamboo tubes.
Read the dish guide →
Mung Bean Noodles 绿豆面AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Mung Bean Noodles (绿豆面) are a handmade snack of Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County (石柱土家族自治县) in Chongqing.
Read the dish guide →
Tujia Pounded Rice Cakes 土家糍粑Reference photo of a similar dish · 同类菜品参考照片
Tujia Pounded Rice Cakes (土家糍粑) are round cakes of steamed glutinous rice pounded into a sticky white dough, made in the Tujia (土家) villages of Shizhu (石柱) in southeast Chongqing.
Read the dish guide →
Photo adjustments
Full frame retained; EXIF orientation normalized, proportionally resized to at most 800 pixels and converted to WebP. No generated pixels or subject changes. Cards may crop the display.
More dishes from across Chongqing are in the Chongqing food guide.
Plan your visit
Getting there
Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County is about 160 km in a straight line from central Chongqing. Search for 石柱土家族自治县 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Xituo Ancient Town and Huangshui and Dafengbao Forest Area are both listed here. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Chongqing →More in Chongqing
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Photo: Huangshui and Dafengbao Forest Area · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark approximate centres, not entrances or boundaries.