Harmonious Flow of Rongjiang (Walking Guizhou)

Author: Gao Bing, Yang Junjiang
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-10-01
Features: Rongjiang County is located in the southern part of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, spanning the Pearl River and Yangtze River basins and situated between Leigong Mountain and Yueyang Mountain. It lies on the edge of the transition from the Guizhou Plateau to the Guangxi Hills, with topography primarily characterized by mid-level mountains, low mountain hills, river valleys, and basins. There are 67 rivers of various sizes within the county, totaling 1,303 kilometers in length, with the Doupui River flowing through it. The county is lush with forests and grasslands, with a forest coverage rate of 68.2%.
Rongjiang County borders Liping to the east and Congjiang to the south, connects with Libo to the south, adjoins Leishan to the west and Sandu to the west, and is north of Jianhe. It is 66.5 kilometers wide from east to west and 93 kilometers long from north to south, covering a total area of 3,315.8 square kilometers. The county seat, Guzhou Town, is 365 kilometers away from Guiyang, the provincial capital, 173 kilometers from Kaili, the prefectural seat, 390 kilometers from Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and 340 kilometers from Nanning.
Historically, Rongjiang County was known as Guzhou. During the Western Zhou and Spring and Autumn periods, it was part of the Chu State. In the Qin Dynasty, it belonged to Qizhong Commandery, and during the Han Dynasty, it was part of Wuling Commandery. In the Three Kingdoms period, it was under the control of Shu. In the mid-Tang Dynasty, it was part of Guzhou Leixing Commandery. In the late Tang, Song, Ming, and early Qing dynasties, it was largely a frontier region. In the eighth year of the Yongzheng reign (1730), Guzhou Prefecture was officially established in the county, and a city was built on Zhuge Liang's former camp site in winter of the same year. The Guzhou City, which is now the county seat of Rongjiang County, was established.
In the second year of the Republic of China (1913), Guzhou Prefecture was renamed Rongjiang County. The Rongjiang County Chronicle records that in September of that year, the prefecture was abolished and replaced with a county. The character "zhou" (state) in Guzhou was considered confusing in terms of administrative hierarchy when paired with the character "county," so the name was changed to "Rongjiang County" due to the presence of banyan trees and rivers in the area.
Rongjiang County has six towns and 14 townships, including six ethnic townships. It administers 268 administrative villages and 14 street resident committees, with a total population of 320,000. The Dong ethnic group forms the majority, and together with 14 other ethnic groups such as the Miao, Shui, and Yao, they account for 84.4% of the total population. The Han Chinese are the "minority" in this region.