Get to know Huayuan County
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- Administrative area
- County · 县
- Part of
- Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture
- Chinese name
- 花垣县
- Local areas
- County guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 1,111.12 km²
- Population · 2010
- 288,082
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
Setting and landscape
Baojing (保靖) lies to the north, Jishou (吉首) to the east and Fenghuang (凤凰) to the south, while to the west the county meets Xiushan (秀山) in Chongqing and Songtao (松桃) in Guizhou.
History
Under the Qing this was Yongsui Subprefecture (永绥直隶厅); it became Yongsui County in 1913 and took the name Huayuan, after its seat, in 1952. The county was once called the manganese capital of the east, and 1,195 abandoned mine shafts have since been sealed and old mining land covered with soil and replanted.
What to see
Biancheng town, called Chadong (茶峒) until 2005, owes its fame to Shen Congwen's novel Border Town and was named a Chinese historical and cultural town in 2014. At Chadong the Lala ferry (拉拉渡) crosses the You River (酉水), and a flagstone street runs where three provinces meet, with a Three Provinces Teahouse (三省茶馆) on it. Molao (磨老村), a village in the town, was among the first Chinese traditional villages listed in 2012.
Shibadong village (十八洞村) is where targeted poverty alleviation was first proposed. It forms part of the national 5A Aizhai, Shibadong and Dehang Grand Canyon scenic area, and UN Tourism named it one of the Best Tourism Villages of 2024. Other sights are the Gumiao River (古苗河) national wetland park, the Xiaolongdong (小龙洞) and Dalongdong (大龙洞) caves, Zixia Lake (紫霞湖) and the Shaketi terraces (沙科梯田) at Malichang (麻栗场镇), where rapeseed flowers turn the fields gold.
The local Miao speak the Western Hunan dialect of the Miao language and keep a festival nearly every month; the Siyueba (四月八) song gathering and the Ganqiu (赶秋) autumn festival on the eighth day of the seventh month are the largest. Hunan Daily notes that Ganqiu is on UNESCO's intangible heritage list and describes Miao dancers performing the dragon-welcoming dance.
Food and local products
Miao embroidery from Shibadong is now sold as craft products, and navel oranges grow around Biancheng.
Getting oriented
The county seat is Huayuan town (花垣镇). National highways 209 and 319 cross the county, and Xiangxi Biancheng Airport, which Hunan Daily describes as on the doorstep of Shibadong's villagers, made its first flight, to Beijing, on 18 August 2023. Shibadong is reached by the 8.856-kilometre Y021 road.
Highlights
- Biancheng (Chadong) 边城镇: Town made famous by Shen Congwen's Border Town; a Chinese historical and cultural town since 2014.
- Shibadong village 十八洞村: Miao village in a national 5A scenic area, named a UN Tourism Best Tourism Village in 2024.
- Gumiao River 古苗河: River valley protected as a national wetland park.
- Ganqiu festival 赶秋节: Miao autumn festival on the eighth day of the seventh month.
Sources for this guide
花垣县 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Chinese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
首倡之地 绿色崛起——花垣“十四五”交出生态产业富民答卷 · Hunan Daily, republished by the Policy Research Office of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee (hnzy.gov.cn)
边城镇 (花垣县) - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Chinese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
矮寨·十八洞·德夯大峡谷景区 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Chinese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-25.
Explore Huayuan County
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Huayuan County
AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非该地点实拍）Shibadong Village十八洞村
Shibadong is a Miao village in Huayuan County, known for its place in China's targeted poverty-alleviation programme.
Read the place guide →
Chadong Border Town · 边城茶峒Chadong Border Town边城茶峒
Chadong (边城茶峒) is an old town in Huayuan county, in the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Hunan, standing on the Qingshui river where Hunan, Chongqing and Guizhou meet. It is the place on which Shen Congwen modelled his novel Border Town, and in 2005 the township was renamed Biancheng after the book.
Read the place guide →Plan your visit
Getting there
Huayuan County is about 40 km in a straight line from central Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. Search for 花垣县 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Shibadong Village and Chadong Border Town are both listed here. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture →More in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Some facts checked against 花垣县 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Some facts checked against 边城镇 (花垣县) — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Some facts checked against 矮寨·十八洞·德夯大峡谷景区 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Chadong Border Town · 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.