Du'an Yao autonomous county

An aerial view of Hechi's Du'an Yao autonomous county. [Photo/Hechi Daily]    

Du'an Yao autonomous county is located to the south of Hechi city. Covering an area of 4,095 square kilometers, it is home to 538,061 people.

Du'an was listed as a Yao autonomous county in 1955, making it one of the earliest ethnic minority autonomous counties in China. There are many people from ethnic minorities such as the Zhuang, Yao, Miao, Mulam and Maonan living here, and they account for 96.34 percent of the total population.

Among them, the Yao population accounts for 23 percent of the total. The county is the main settlement of the Bunuyao people in China.

The county is almost entirely covered by mountains; indeed, 89 percent of the total area is taken up by a karst mountain landscape. Its underground river system ranks first in China and second in Asia. There are more than 300 underground river skylights, and as such it has become known as the "underground river skylight capital of the world". Its specialties, including wild grape wine, weaving crafts, and goat meat, are popular across China.

In 2021, Du'an Yao autonomous county's GDP reached 7.97 billion yuan ($1.19 billion), a year-on-year increase of 7.5 percent. The added value of industries above designated size saw a decrease of 3.5 percent. The fixed-asset investment increased by 37.5 percent. The disposable income of urban residents and rural residents was 28,783 yuan and 10,945 yuan, increasing 7.5 percent and 11.4 percent respectively.