Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Beichuan 北川 |
|
| — Autonomous County — | |
| Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County | |
| Chinese transliteration(s) | |
| - Chinese | 北川羌族自治县 |
|---|---|
| - Pinyin | Běichuān Qiāngzú Zìzhì Xiàn |
.png/250px-Location_of_Beichuan_within_Sichuan_(China).png) |
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  Beichuan
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | China |
| Province | Sichuan |
| Prefecture | City of Mianyang |
| County seat | Qushan (曲山镇) |
| Towns & Townships |
List
|
| Area | |
| - Total | 2,867.83 km² (1,107.3 sq mi) |
| Population (2006) | |
| - Total | 160,156 |
| - Density | 55.8/km² (144.6/sq mi) |
| - Major nationalities | Qiang - 56.7% Han - 40.1% |
| Time zone | China Standard (UTC+8) |
| Postal code | 622750 |
| Area code(s) | 0816 |
| Website: http://beichuan.my.gov.cn | |
Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County (Chinese: 北川羌族自治县; Pinyin: Běichuān Qiāngzú Zìzhì Xiàn) is a county under the jurisdiction of Mianyang Municipality in, Sichuan, China. It is located in an ethnically diverse mountainous region of Sichuan.
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[edit] Geography & Demographics
It has an area of 2867.83 square kilometers and a population of 160,156 in 2006, 56.7% of which are Qiang people, a Sino-Tibetan people related to Tibetans, and 40.1% of which are Han Chinese. [1]
[edit] History
[edit] Yu the Great
Beichuan's most significant claim to fame is as the birthplace of Yu the Great, founder of the Xia dynasty and traditionally regarded as the first hereditary sovereign in Chinese history.
[edit] Great Sichuan Earthquake
The county is among the most severely hit of all disaster regions following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, including the Beichuan High School campus, where numerous students were trapped. The Beichuan party and government building also collapsed. 80% of the county's buildings are said to have collapsed. [2]
Beichuan's fate has since been determined to be relocated as the original site has been deemed too vulnerable. The original site will be turned into a memorial park. [3]
The earthquake also caused a landslide on Mount Tangjian which dammed the Jian River and created the Tangjianshan Quake Lake. The lake is in danger of causing the Tangjianshan Dam to collapse and catastrophically flood downstream communities, totally over a million persons.
[edit] Administrative divisions
Beichuan County has 3 towns and 17 townships.[4]
- Towns:
- Qushan (曲山镇)
- Leigu (擂鼓镇)
- Tongkou (通口镇)
- Townships:
- Xiangquan (香泉乡)
- Chenjiaba (陈家坝乡)
- Guixi (桂溪乡)
- Guanling (贯岭乡)
- Yuli (禹里乡)
- Xuanping (漩坪乡)
- Baini (白坭乡)
- Xiaoba (小坝乡)
- Piankou (片口乡)
- Kaiping (开坪乡)
- Badi (坝底乡)
- Baishi (白什乡)
- Qingpian (青片乡)
- Duba (都坝乡)
- Taolong Tibetan Township (桃龙藏族乡)
- Dunshang (墩上乡)
- Macao (马槽乡)
[edit] References
- ^ (Chinese) Demographics of Beichuan County, Official website of Beichuan County Government, visited on May 16, 2008.
- ^ Death toll in China earthquake rises to 7,600
- ^ Beichuan county town to be made a memorial, China Daily, May 23, 2008.
- ^ (Chinese) Profile of Beichuan County.
