Weixi Lisu Autonomous County is an autonomous county under Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province
The county government is stationed in Baohe Town, which is called “Nina” in Naxi Language
This county is also China’s only Lisu Autonomous County, adjacent to Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture (China’s only Lisu Autonomous Prefecture)
Since the Eastern Han dynasty (AD 25-220), this place has been a part of China’s southwest, the frontier defense fortress in northwestern Yunnan,
It is one of the post transportation tunnels leading to India, Myanmar, Kham and Tibet, and also the meeting point of the ancient “tea-horse exchange market” in northwestern Yunnan.
Weixi County is rich in resources and is known as the “Emerald in the Hengduan Mountains”. And also Known as the “Hometown of Orchid”, “Hometown of Medicinal Materials”, “Natural Rhododendron Garden” and “Great Paradise of Yunnan Golden Monkeys”, it is especially rich in water resources, mineral resources, biological resources and tourism resources.
The local biodiversity has outstanding characteristics and is one of the gene banks of animals and plants in northwestern Yunnan.
Not only do they live in Yunnan golden monkeys, red pandas, antelopes, Neofelis nebulosa, Catopuma, but also orchids, rhododendrons, gentians, etc. 360 Species of famous flowers and various rare tree species such as yew, Taiwan fir, torreya, Davidia involucrata, etc.
Not only protected animals such as Yunnan golden monkeys, red pandas, antelopes, Neofelis nebulosa and Catopuma live in the territory, but also orchids, rhododendrons and Adenophora capillaris, and more than 360 species of flowers, as well as many rare tree species such as yew, taiwania flousiana, torreya, and Davidia involucrata.
Best time to travel
summer and autumn
Local climate
Subtropical and temperate monsoon plateau mountain climate
Most popular sites
Bodhidharma Cave, 15 kilometers east from Tacheng in Weixi County, there is a mountain that looks like a lying elephant. Looking from the bottom to the top, it appears as if a huge Buddha statue sits between the clouds and the sky. This is Dharma Mountain. Climbing from the foot of the mountain, you can go straight to Bodhidharma Cave, about 3080 meters above sea level
This cave was originally a natural rock cave. After Tibetan Buddhism was introduced to Diqing, the folk legend says that Master Bodhidharma spent ten years quietly sitting in front of the wall of this cave, and then he eventually became a Buddha, and even leaving an image of him on the wall and and leaving his footprint at where he stood. The sacred site formed, this cave is named after Bodhidharma
Tanpel ling, also known as “Bodhidharma monastery“, it belongs to the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism. The monastery is located at the lower right of the “Bodhidharma Cave”. The monastery was built in AD 1662 (the first year of Kangxi emperor of Qing Dynasty) and currently there are 28 monks; It was destroyed in 1958, and partially restored in 1985. Now it is being rebuilt and gradually developed under the auspices of the Zhongba Renpoche
Rabje ling, also known as “Laiyuan monastery“, it is a monastery belonging to the Drigon Kagyu Sect; the monastery is located at the lower left of the “Bodhidharma Cave”. The time when the temple was built is unknown. It was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and being rebuilt in 2005. Its Buddhist College was officially listed as a branch of Diqing Buddhist College at the end of 2014. There are now 101 monks in this monastery.
Samagon Nature Reserve, Covering an area of 243 square kilometers, the reserve is located at the transitional zone between the eastern edge of South Asia, India and Burma, and the southern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is an important water source forest and wildlife habitat on the west bank of the upper reaches of the Jinsha River.
Tashi Rabtan ling, also known as “Lanjing monastery“, it was built in 1734 AD (the twelfth year of Emperor Yongzheng of Qing Dynasty). There were originally 280 monks. But it was destroyed in the 1960s and is now being rebuilt
Tashi dargya ling, also known as “Shouguo monastery“, It belongs to Kagyu Pa and was first built in 1729 AD. Later, it was burned down by fire in 1745 AD, and being moved to the current site for reconstruction in 1770 AD, and then it was rebuilt in 1867 AD.
The monastery covers an area of 2,600 square meters, and used to house 260 monks. The whole buildings of this monastery face west, including the great gate, main hall, and side halls, all of which form a courtyard house. These buildings incorporate the characteristics of architecture of Tibetan, Han, Bai, and Naxi people
Geographical environment
Weixi County is Located in the hinterland of “Three Parallel Rivers”, in the southwest of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,
it faces Shangri-La City to the east across the river, borders Yulong County of Lijiang City to the southeast, Lanping County of Nujiang River to the south, and Gongshan County and Fugong County of Nujiang Prefecture to the west. It connects with Deqen County in the north. It is 219 kilometers away from the downtown area of Shangri-La City
The county has a maximum length of 70 kilometers from east to west, and a width of about 122 kilometers from north to south, with an administrative area of 4,477 square kilometers.
Landform
Weixi Lisu Autonomous County is located in the transition zone from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of the Hengduan Mountains to the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and the Sichuan Basin.
The main mountains and rivers in the territory are arranged side by side. The terrain rises in steps from south to north and runs through from southeast to northwest. The terrain is narrow in the north and wide in the south, which is slightly “L”-shaped.
From south to north, it lifts an average of 39.34 meters per 1,000 meters, the relative height difference is large, and the topography is complex and changeable, which is rare in China
The terrain is high in the north and low in the south. In its area, the Biluo Snow Mountains, Lancang River, Yunling Mountains, and Jinsha River are arranged in sequence from west to east
The two rivers (Yongchun River and Lapu River) share the same origin in Lidiping, which divides water from north to south and flows into the two rivers (Lancang River and Jinsha River).
Within the county, there are 164 peaks above 3000 meters above sea level.
The county has an average elevation of 2340 meters, the county seat — Baohe town is with elevation of 2,320 meters, the highest elevation within the county is 4,800 meters, and the lowest elevation is 1,380 meters.
Due to river erosion and natural weathering, the landform is divided to form a typical “V”-shaped landform.
Hydrology
The Lancang River enters from Dashitou Village, flows through 6 townships (towns), exits from Xiaodian Village to Lanping, and runs through the whole territory from north to south, with a transit process of 165 kilometers.
The Jinsha River passes through the northeast corner of the county, with a transit process of 13 kilometers.
There are a total of 763 large and small mountain streams and rivers in the county, which flow into the Lancang River and the Jinsha River respectively
Among them, Yongchun River and Lapu River are the two largest main streams.
The Yongchun River flows through 3 townships and 1 town, has a flow of 56 kilometers, a drainage area of 811 square kilometers, an average annual flow of 15 cubic meters per second, a maximum flow of 80 cubic meters per second, and irrigation of 9500 acres of farmland.
The Lapu River flows 76 kilometers, the drainage area is 87 square kilometers, the average flow is 18.7 cubic meters per second, the maximum flow is 330 cubic meters per second, and 4600 mu of farmland is irrigated throughout the year.
In addition, there are 12 rivers that belong to the tributary of the Lancang River with a flow of more than 10 kilometers.
Climate
Weixi County is located in a low-latitude plateau, with a subtropical and temperate monsoon plateau mountain climate.
The climatic zone of the whole county is distributed vertically, and the relationship between temperature and altitude change is 0.52℃/100m.
The difference between the highest point and the lowest point in the territory is 3394 meters, and the annual average temperature difference is 16.6℃.
The annual average temperature in the territory is 11.5℃, the coldest month is January, the average temperature is 3.6℃, and the hottest month is July, the average temperature is 18.4℃, and the annual difference is 14.8℃.
The annual average total sunshine hours is 2,105 hours;
The average annual precipitation is 938 mm, and the number of precipitation days is between 100 and 160 days;
Population and ethnicity
As of the end of 2019, Weixi Susu Autonomous County has a resident population of 160,300 and a minority population of 137,930, accounting for 87.70% of the total population.
The Lisu population accounts for 56.91% of the total population of Weixi County; among the minority population in Weixi County, the Lisu population accounts for 65.57%.
There are 27 ethnic minorities in the county, including Lisu, Naxi, Tibetan, Bai, Yi, Pumi, etc.
Distribution of ethnic minorities
The Lisu people in Weixi Lisu Autonomous County mainly live in the high-cold mountainous and mid-mountainous areas with relatively poor living environment;
The Bai, Naxi, Tibetan and Han ethnic groups are mainly distributed along the Lancang River and Jinsha River and in the valley areas.
According to the administrative division, Baohe Town, the county seat, is the main settlement of the Han nationality.
Yongchun Township and the three villages of Zili, Zhenpu, and Meile in Yezhi Town, the two villages of Qibie and Haini in Tacheng Town, and Jieju Village in Pantiange Township are the places where the Naxi people are relatively concentrated.
And Badi Township and Tacheng Township are two towns in the county where Tibetans are widely distributed.
The Bai people are scattered, most of them are the tribe of Bai known as “Nama people”. Their main settlements are the 5 villages of Weideng, Fuchuan, Xiaodian, Tuoluo and Beidian in Weideng Township, as well as Jiahe Village and Baiji Village in Zhonglu Township. Gongle Village in Xunxiang,
There are also Bai people in the three villages of Tuozhi, Juxiang and Lanyong in Yongchun Township and Jiju Village in Pantiange Township
In addition, in the two villages of Haini and Kona in Tacheng town, there are “Malimasha people” of the Naxi tribe.
Lisu people
The Lisu nationality is a descendant of the Di nationality, and the language used is the Yi branch of the Tibeto-Burman group of the Sino-Tibetan language family.
The Lisu people in Weixi can communicate directly with the Lisu people in Nujiang, Dali, Lijiang and other states (cities).
The houses of the Lisu people in Weixi are mainly wooden houses. In addition, there are stone walls, stone houses covered by stone flakes, and a few “dry fence” houses with grass and wood structures. At present, there have been civil-timbered tile-roof houses in Lisu villages.
The costumes of Lisu people in Weixi Lisu Autonomous County vary from place to place.
The clothing characteristics of the Lisu people are that women wear embroidered tops and linen skirts, and they like to wear red and white beads, corals, shells and other accessories;
In the lower reaches of the Lancang River, Gongjiang and Qingshui Rivers in the county, “Nianzhan” is popularly worn, which means bird costume. Because women wear white underwear, blue jackets and black waistcoats, their appearance and color resemble magpies.
Men generally wear self-made sheep felt hats or cloth hats, short clothes, linen coats, a knife on the left waist, and an arrow bag on the right waist.
The main food of the Lisu people is corn, wheat, buckwheat, potatoes and beans.
Traditional festivals include Khosh Festival, Chinese New Year, Knife Bar Festival, Harvest Festival and so on.
Among them, the “Khosh festival” is the New Year festival of the Lisu nationality. The approximate time is on the first month of the lunar calendar.
Religion
The three major religions of Tibetan Buddhism, Catholicism, and Christianity coexist in Weixi Lisu Autonomous County. At the same time, most ethnic minorities have their own primitive religions, and multiple religions and different sects live together in friendship.
The primitive religion of the Lisu people in the county worships gods and ghosts, but there are no temples. Wizards are divided into two categories: Doba and Nipa.
Religious activities mainly include worship to gods, ghosts, and divination.
Christianity has a wide range of believers among the Lisu people in Weixi Lisu Autonomous County
Brief history
In 112 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty developed the “Southwest Yi” and set up counties
At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the Tubo forces moved eastward and built the Shenchuan Iron Bridge across the Jinsha River. The iron bridge Jiedushi (or Shenchuan Dudu Mansion) was set up, and the East and West cities were established. The east city was in present-day Shangri-La County and the west city was in present-day Weixi county area,
From the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, Weixi County was under the jurisdiction of Tubo, Nanzhao, and “Dali Kingdom” successively.
In 1277 AD, the Yuan Dynasty established “Linxi County”, which was the beginning of the establishment of Weixi County.
In the Ming Dynasty, the construction of Linxi County continued. For more than a hundred years after the fourth year of Chenghua of Ming Dynasty (AD 1468), the chieftain of the Mu clan of Lijiang fought against the Tubo in the battle of Linxi and attacked Linxi County.
During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty (AD 1573-AD 1620), the entire Linxi area was restored to the jurisdiction of the Lijiang Military and Civilian Mansion.
In the twelfth year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1673), the vast area north of Qi Zong region was placed under the jurisdiction of the Tibetan local government.
In 1727 AD (the fifth year of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty), the Weixi Hall was established. Its territory spans the Jinsha River in the east, borders present-day Markam County in Tibet in the north, the Nujiang River in the west, and the Dulong River in the northwest, including present-day Weixi, Deqin, Gongshan, Fugong counties and Wujing Township in Shangri-La County.
In 1912（the first year of the Republic of China), the Weixi Hall was changed to Weixi County, under the management of the Yunnan Provincial Government
In 1913（the second year of the Republic of China）， Weixi County was reorganized, and Deqin, Fugong, and Gongshan were divided out successively.
In 1948 （the thirty-seventh year of the Republic of China）, the 13th Administrative Inspectorate’s Office was once set up in the county seat.
In October 1949, the People’s Government of Weixi County was established under the jurisdiction of Lijiang Prefecture.
In 1957, it was placed under the Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
In 1961, the Wujing District was placed under Zhongdian County, now Shangri-La City.
In 1985, Weixi County was abolished and Weixi Lisu Autonomous County was established, still under the jurisdiction of Diqing Prefecture.
In 2001, Weixi Lisu Autonomous County governed 1 town and 9 townships
In 2005, there were seven townships and three towns in Weixi Lisu Autonomous County
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