Wuling Region Economic and Social Development Research

Author: Liu Lunwen/Nationality: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-08-01
Features: The Wuling region primarily includes the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Zhangjiajie City, Huaihua Prefecture, Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Hubei Province, the Qianjiang Development Zone of Chongqing, and the Tongren Prefecture of Guizhou Province, totaling six prefecture-level cities. It is inhabited by over 30 ethnic minorities such as the Tujia, Miao, Dong, Yao, Bouyei, and Bai, including two ethnic autonomous prefectures and 32 ethnic autonomous counties. Geographically, the Wuling Mountains serve as the transition zone between China's second and third terraces, located at the center of the country. In ancient times, it was a crucial passage for traveling from Sichuan to Shu and a vital link connecting the Central Plains with Southwest China. The Wuling region is a convergence of Bashu culture, Chu culture, Central Plains culture, and the culture of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. Today, the Wuling region is a watershed in China's regional economy and a forefront and ideal experimental base for the Western Development Strategy. Due to its internal commonalities in geography, politics, economy, and culture, as well as its significant differences from the outside world, the Wuling region has become a research base for many anthropologists, sociologists, and cultural anthropologists. Renowned sociologist Pan Guangdan and Melissa J. Brown from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Cincinnati have all conducted surveys and research here. For a long time, scholars from the Institute of Ethnic Studies and the Institute of Political Economy at Hubei Minzu University, along with other researchers, have collaborated with ethnic minority culture experts in surrounding areas, conducting a series of surveys on politics, economy, and culture based on the Wuling region. These efforts have yielded fruitful results through publications such as the Journal of Hubei Minzu University, the Journal of Tujia Studies, and West Hubei Ethnicity. This manuscript primarily selects research articles on the economic and social development of the Wuling region, constructing a theoretical framework for the region's economic and social development with substantial primary data, thereby providing strong theoretical support for government decision-making.