Get to know Xichou County
Photo adjustments
Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
- Administrative area
- County · 县
- Part of
- Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture
- Chinese name
- 西畴县
- Local areas
- County guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 1,545.00 km²
- Population · 2020 census
- 203,630
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
Plateau and rocky hills
Xichou occupies the southern edge of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau (云贵高原). The terrain is generally higher in the north and centre and lower toward the southeast and southwest. The county administration is based at Xisa (西洒). Its National Stone Desert Park (西畴国家石漠公园) interprets local efforts to restore land once affected by severe erosion and vegetation loss.
Forest slopes and village traditions
Xiangping Mountain (香坪山) offers forest scenery, while Jinzhong Mountain (金钟山) has climbing boardwalks and a sculpture called Jinzhong Xuri (金钟旭日). Tanggu Village (汤谷村), a Zhuang (壮族) settlement in Xisa, holds a women’s Sun Festival (女子太阳节), during which adult women wear bird costumes for sun worship and a coming-of-age ceremony. This sun-worship tradition is recorded as national intangible cultural heritage.
Sources for this guide
西畴县人民政府关于印发西畴县秸秆、垃圾禁烧区和限烧区划定方案的通知 - 西畴县人民政府 · Xichou County Government
【新文山新实践】石漠绿洲康养西畴 - 西畴县人民政府 · Xichou County Government
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-30.
Explore Xichou County
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Xichou County
Xichou National Stone Desert Park · Plan your visit
Getting there
Xichou County is about 45 km in a straight line from central Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. Search for 西畴县 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Start with Xichou National Stone Desert Park. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture →More in Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Photo: Xichou National Stone Desert Park · 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.