Bijie Overview

Bijie's beauty is always in the casual. In this Yelang ancient kingdom, the ancient ethnic customs and the beauty of caves fit well, breathtaking.

Basic Information

• Chinese Name: 毕节市
• Location: Northwest of Guizhou Province
• Government Seat: Qixingguan District(七星关区)
• Area: 26853 square kilometers
• Population: An approximate population of 6,641,800
• Minorities: Bijie is home to a 45 ethnic groups, including Miao, Yi, Hui, Bai, Buyi and Gelao, etc.
• Language: Southwest Mandarin
• Airport: Bijie Feixiong Airport(毕节飞雄机场)
• Universities: Bijie Radio and Television University and Bijie Medical College, etc.
• Important Festivals: the torch festival of the Yi minority, Yi’s New Year, the Tiaohua festival of the Miao minority, and double sixth festival(the sixth day of the sixth lunar month) of the Bouyei minority.
• Railway Stations: Weining Caohai Railway Station, Zhijin Railway Station, Dafang South Railway Station, Nayong Railway Station.
• Famous Attractions: Zhijin Cave, Caohai Lake, Baili Azalea Scenic Spot and Jiucaiping, etc.

Geography

Bijie is located in the northwest of Guizhou province, at the junction of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces. Bijie is adjacent to Guiyang and Zunyi in the east, Anshun and Liupanshui in the south, Zhaotong and Qujing in Yunnan province in the west, and Luzhou city in Sichuan province in the north. The total area of the city is nearly 26,900 square kilometers. The average altitude in the territory is 1600 meters, and the highest elevation is 2900.6 meters at Jiucaiping of Zhushi township, Hezhang county, which is also the highest point in Guizhou. The lowest place is located in the Chishui river valley at the junction of Jinsha county and Renhuai City and Gullin county, 457 meters above sea level. Bijie is 217 kilometers from the provincial capital Guiyang, and 210 kilometers, 240 kilometers, 370 kilometers, 200 kilometers and 172 kilometers respectively from Luzhou, Zhaotong, Qujing, Anshun and Zunyi.

Bijie is located in the sloping zone of the transition from eastern Yunnan plateau to the highland and hills of central Guizhou. From the Proterozoic Sinian to the quaternary strata of the Cenozoic are all distributed, the geological structure is complex, the fold faults are staggered and developed, with diverse karst landforms. The terrain in the area is high in the west and low in the east, and overlapping mountains, rivers, plateaus, hilly areas, basins, valleys, flatland, peaks, trough valleys, depressions, karst lakes are staggered in it.

Climate

Bijie is in mountainous area, and there are mountains including Wumen mountain in the west, Dalou mountain in the north and Laowang mountain in the southwest. Most areas in Bijie enjoy subtropical humid climate, with 1231 hours of annual average sunshine, annual average temperature of 13.09℃, annual rainfall of 1129.04 mm, frost-free period of 266 days and 38.75% of forest coverage. Bijie has no severe cold in winter, no intense heat in summer, pleasant climate. With large elevation difference, vertical climate change in Bijie is particularly obvious. The temperature is different up in the mountain and on the mountain foot, as well as in the highland and in the basin.

Best Time to Visit

The best travel time is form early spring to late autumn, when you can avoid the cold winter in the mountain areas, and feast your eyes on the beauty of the mountains.

Administrative Divisions

Bijie City has jurisdiction over 1 district, 6 counties, 1 autonomous county, 1 management committee(Baili Azalea Management Committee) and 1 new district(Jinhai Lake New District).

• 1 District: Qixingguan District(七星关区)
• 6 Counties: Hezhang County(赫章县), Nayong County(纳雍县), Zhijin County(织金县), Qianxi County(黔西县), Jinsha County(金沙县), Dafang County(大方县)
• 1 Autonomous County: Weining Yi, Hui and Miao Autonomous County(威宁彝族回族苗族自治县)

Culture

Bijie is home to a large number of ethnic minorities, among 56 ethnic groups in China, 45 ethnic groups distributed in Bijie. Ethnic minority cultures in Bijie are rich and splendid, including Miao culture, Yi culture, Hui culture, as well as Bai, Buyi and Gelao cultures. There are also ethnic music like "Song of Wumeng(乌蒙欢歌)" and ethnic crafts like paper cutting of Yi minority, Miao batik and embroidery.

Transportation

Long-distance bus is the most commonly used means of transportation in Bijie. In 2013, the airport was completed and put into use, and taking airplane became the fastest way. And another airport named Bijie Baili Azalea General Airport is under construction. At present, the urban area in Bijie has no railway station, the nearest railway station to Bijie downtown is the Weining Caohai railway station. In the near future, the trains to the urban area of Bijie will be available. 

Things to Do in Bijie

Zhijin Cave(织金洞)

Zhijin Cave, the world geopark, the king of karst caves in China and a national AAAA level tourist attraction, is located 23 kilometers northeast of Zhijin county, 120 kilometers away from Guiyang, the provincial capital. The park covers an area of 170 square kilometers and is 900-1670 meters above sea level. The cave is more than 10 kilometers deep. The maximum span inside the cave is 175 meters, with a relative height difference of more than 150 meters. The general height inside the cave is between 60 and 100 meters, with a total area of more than 700,000 square meters. Inside the cave, there are more than 40 kinds of deposit, the highest one is 70 meters. 

Caohai Lake(草海)

Located in Weining county, Caohai Lake is a complete, typical wetland ecosystem, is an important wintering ground and transfer station for 228 species of birds, including black-necked cranes, and is the ten grand birdwatching base in the world, Ⅰ level important wetland in China, and national AAAA level scenic spots. Also, Caohai lake is one of the three famous plateau lakes(Caohai Lake, Dianchi lake and Qinghai lake), and the biggest plateau freshwater lake in Guizhou.

Baili Azalea Scenic Spot(百里杜鹃风景区)

Baili Azalea Scenic Spot is located in the northwest of Guizhou province and the central Bijie city, under the jurisdiction of Baili Azalea Management Committee of Bijie city. It is 155 kilometers away from Guiyang, 100 kilometers away from Zunyi, 80 kilometers away from Bijie, 30 kilometers away from the Qianxi county, and more than 40 kilometers from the county seat of Dafang County. The original azalea forest belt is annular distribution, 1.2-5.3 kilometers wide, stretching more than 50 kilometers, with a total area of 125.8 square kilometers.

Jiucaiping(Chinese Chives Meadow韭菜坪)

Jiucaiping is located in Hezhang county, it is two peaks, namely big Jiucaiping and small Jiucaiping. Big Jiucaiping is a national tourism area, is the world's largest area of wild leek flowers, the only wild leek flower reserves in China, and has a very high scientific value and aesthetic value, known as the "earth's diamond." Small Jiucaiping is 2900.6 meters above sea level, the highest peak in Guizhou, known as the "roof of Guizhou".

History

Bijie has a long history, splendid culture and simple folk customs. The history could be traced back to Xia dynasty, at that time, it belonged to Liangzhou(梁州). Then from Yin and Zhou dynasties to Yuan dynasty, it belonged to ancient Yelang kingdom, Luoshi(罗施) and other countries. It called Pingyi county(平夷县) in Han dynasty, Jimilu prefecture(羁縻禄州) in Tang dynasty, Bijie Yi(毕节驿) in Yuan dynasty, Bijiewei(毕节卫) in Ming dynasty and Bijie county in Qing dynasty. By the end of 2011, the Bijie area and the county level Bijie city were abolished and the prefecture level Bijie city was established. 

Natural Resources

Water Resources

There are 193 rivers more than 10 kilometers in Bijie, which flow into four major water systems, Wujiang river, Chishui river, Beipan river and Jinsha river. The main streams of Wujiang river system in Yangtze river basin are Pianyan river(偏岩河), Yeji river(野济河), Liuchong river(六冲河) and Sancha river; Chishui river belongs to Chishui river system; Niulanjiang river and Baishui river belong to Jinsha river system; and Kedu river(可渡河) in the upstream of Beipanjiang river belongs to pearl river basin. In Bijie, the drainage area belonging to Yangtze river basin is 25,600 square kilometers, and the drainage area belonging to pearl river basin is 1,239 square kilometers, accounting for 95.39% and 4.61% of the total area of the city respectively.

Biological Resources

There are nearly 100 species of liverworts, 130 species of ferns in 34 families, 22 species of gymnosperms in 9 families and 1,809 species of angiosperms in 155 families. In addition, there are 21 kinds of grain crops and 950 varieties, including 7 kinds of beans and 277 varieties; 7 kinds of  oil crops and 64 varieties, 56 kinds of vegetable and 395 varieties; More than 1000 kinds of medicinal plants, mainly producing pinellia ternata, gastrodia elata, poria cocos, codonopsis pilosula, eucommia ulmoides; There are also 378 species of wild fodder grasses in 45 families.

There are more than 1,000 kinds of wild animals including more than 10 rare animals in Bijie. The black-necked crane, a rare bird under state class I protection, is well protected and attracts numerous experts and tourists from home and abroad. Livestock and poultry are in variety, Qianxi horse and Kele pig are famous throughout the country.

Mineral Resources

There are 40 kinds of mines in Bijie, including coal, iron, lead and zinc, sulfur, clay, kaolin clay, bauxite, phosphorus, silica, barite, sandstone, gypsum, rare earth, colored stones, dolomite, antimony, nickel, manganese, copper, fluorite, jasper, agate.