Gejiu

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View of Gejiu and its lake at night, looking south-west from the north-eastern corner. The parkland at the lake's southern edge can be seen to the left, and the CBD at its south-west can be seen to the middle and right. (November, 2004)

Gejiu (Chinese: 個舊; pinyin: Gèjiù; Hani: Goqjef) is a county-level city and the capital of Honghe prefecture, Yunnan Province, China, and has 136,000 inhabitants (rank 5 of cities in Yunnan ). It is the site of the country's largest tin deposits and its main industry is mining.

1 Layout
2 Ethnography
3 Location
4 History

[edit] Layout

The town is located in a crater-like depression around a lake on top of a mountain. The main road enters the town from the north through a thin pass. To the east and west are steep cliffs. Those to the west are too steep to inhabit, however extensive new construction along the eastern side has created many new districts.

[edit] Ethnography

The populace is primarily Han Chinese, however minorities such as the muslim Hui, Dai from the nearby Red River valley, and Hani from the surrounding mountains (see Yuanyang) are also present.

View from the western hills of Gejiu looking east. The city lies in the depression behind the buildings that is not visible. The eastern cliffs, which tower above the city, are visible in the background. (November, 2004)

[edit] Location

Gejiu is located on top of a mountain to the north of the Red River (pinyin Hong He) valley, which flows from Tibet to Vietnam. To the south-west in this valley is Nansha, which lies directly below the town of Yuanyang. To the north-west lies Jianshui, and to the north Jijie. Mengzi lies 12 miles to the west.

[edit] History

The town surrounds a lake which, however, was not naturally formed. According to locals, during the 1950s water welled up through the mines and flooded a large portion of the town, and later the adjacent area was turned into a park. Today the town is protected from further flooding by an underground spillway.