Badong County

Coordinates: 31°02′32″N 110°20′27″E / 31.0423°N 110.3408°E / 31.0423; 110.3408
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Badong County
巴东县
Patung
Badong is located in Hubei
Badong
Badong
Location of the seat in Hubei
Badong is located in China
Badong
Badong
Badong (China)
Coordinates (Badong County government): 31°02′32″N 110°20′27″E / 31.0423°N 110.3408°E / 31.0423; 110.3408
CountryPeople's Republic of China
ProvinceHubei
Autonomous prefectureEnshi
Area
 • Total3,219 km2 (1,243 sq mi)
Population
 (2010)[1]
 • Total420,840
 • Density130/km2 (340/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard)
Websitewww.hbbd.gov.cn

Badong County (simplified Chinese: 巴东; traditional Chinese: 巴東; pinyin: Bādōng Xiàn; lit. 'East of (state of) Ba') is a county located in western Hubei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Chongqing municipality to the west. It is the northernmost county-level division under the administration of Enshi Prefecture. The Yangtze River flows through the county and the county seat is located just east of the Wu Gorge in the Three Gorges region.

Badong County is famous for the Shennong Stream gorges located near Badong town. The stream itself falls into the Yangtze opposite the Badong center city.

Yangtze River in Badong County

The Badong county seat, commonly referred to simply as "Badong", is in the town of Xinling (信陵; Xìnlíng Zhèn), located on the high southern banks of the Yangtze River channel. The Yangtze valley was flooded during the first decade of the 21st century after the construction of the Three Gorges Dam to the east, but Badong county seat was mostly above the flood line, and so more of the original town survives than is the case in many other river towns along this section of the Yangtze.

Administrative divisions[edit]

The Si Du River Bridge (Yesanguan Town), said to be the highest bridge in the world

Badong County is divided into 10 towns and 2 townships.[1][2][3]

Ten towns:

Two townships:

The main urban area of the county (i.e., the place typically labeled "Badong" on less-detailed maps) consists of Xinling Town—the seat of the county government—on the right (southern) bank of the Yangtze, and the smaller Dongrangkou and Guandukou towns on the opposite side of the river. They two sides of the Yangtze are connected by the Badong Bridge.

Climate[edit]

Climate data for Badong (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 19.2
(66.6)
27.4
(81.3)
34.0
(93.2)
37.1
(98.8)
38.5
(101.3)
40.8
(105.4)
40.4
(104.7)
41.6
(106.9)
40.9
(105.6)
33.7
(92.7)
27.1
(80.8)
20.3
(68.5)
41.6
(106.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 10.0
(50.0)
12.7
(54.9)
17.9
(64.2)
23.8
(74.8)
27.3
(81.1)
30.6
(87.1)
33.3
(91.9)
33.4
(92.1)
28.5
(83.3)
22.6
(72.7)
17.3
(63.1)
11.7
(53.1)
22.4
(72.4)
Daily mean °C (°F) 6.3
(43.3)
8.4
(47.1)
12.6
(54.7)
17.9
(64.2)
21.7
(71.1)
25.1
(77.2)
27.6
(81.7)
27.5
(81.5)
23.4
(74.1)
18.0
(64.4)
13.0
(55.4)
8.1
(46.6)
17.5
(63.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 3.7
(38.7)
5.4
(41.7)
8.7
(47.7)
13.5
(56.3)
17.6
(63.7)
21.2
(70.2)
23.7
(74.7)
23.4
(74.1)
19.8
(67.6)
14.9
(58.8)
10.1
(50.2)
5.5
(41.9)
14.0
(57.1)
Record low °C (°F) −3.6
(25.5)
−1.6
(29.1)
−0.1
(31.8)
1.1
(34.0)
10.0
(50.0)
14.9
(58.8)
17.1
(62.8)
16.9
(62.4)
12.4
(54.3)
6.0
(42.8)
1.1
(34.0)
−5.9
(21.4)
−5.9
(21.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 17.6
(0.69)
31.0
(1.22)
53.8
(2.12)
100.2
(3.94)
141.0
(5.55)
153.3
(6.04)
171.0
(6.73)
137.4
(5.41)
113.5
(4.47)
93.7
(3.69)
51.2
(2.02)
15.3
(0.60)
1,079
(42.48)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 7.1 7.7 10.4 12.6 14.3 13.0 13.9 11.6 11.1 11.5 9.4 7.2 129.8
Average snowy days 2.7 1.6 0.8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.7 5.8
Average relative humidity (%) 69 67 67 69 73 75 76 72 73 76 75 71 72
Mean monthly sunshine hours 69.5 73.1 111.7 137.5 139.3 143.2 182.8 197.1 129.3 101.3 85.8 71.1 1,441.7
Percent possible sunshine 22 23 30 35 33 34 43 48 35 29 27 23 32
Source: China Meteorological Administration[4][5]

Economy[edit]

Coal mining in small pits is the main commercial activity in the region, along with farming. There is also a large cement factory on the river to the east of the town, which is a significant polluter.

The rural population of Badong County, as with many other parts of inland China, has seen major changes in the past two decades. The Chinese government's population control policies in the 1980s and beyond resulted in a sharp drop in births, and also in a change in attitudes, making many couples uninterested in having more than one child. The new freedom to travel and work in other parts of China has also led to a major exodus of workers to the coastal areas of China to find work. The older people tend to stay in the villages, and the workers often return to have their children, but they then generally return to the factories. The overall result is that many villages in Badong are shrinking and some terraced farmland in this largely mountaintainous region is being abandoned and allowed to return to its original state.

Transportation[edit]

Rural landscape near G209 in Xiqiuwan Township, Badong County

Due to the difficult terrain and the road conditions, the most convenient way to reach Badong's county seat is with a Yangtze riverboat. Both regular boats and hydrofoils call in the busy Badong harbor on the way up and down between Yichang and Chongqing.

The county has one Yangtze crossing, the Badong Bridge, carrying China National Highway 209. The highway crosses the northern half of the county from the northeast to the southwest. As of 2009, Highway 209 was little more than a dirt road for a 20-km stretch north of the bridge.

China National Highway 318 crosses the southern part of the county from the east to the west. The new G50 Shanghai–Chongqing Expressway and Yichang-Wanzhou Railway have been recently completed along the same corridor as well. The Siduhe Bridge on the new highway, located near Yesanguan town, is one of the longest bridges of its kinds; the nearby Zhijinghe Bridge is one of the world's tallest arch bridges.

The Yesanguan railway station, located near Yesanguan Town in the south-central part of the county, is the only railway station within the county. It renamed from Badong railway station to Yesanguan railway station in 2022.[6] A high-speed rail station, Badong North railway station (now renamed Badong railway station), will open on the Zhengzhou–Wanzhou high-speed railway.

A number of provincial highways run north to south through the county.

See also[edit]

Gallery[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c 巴东县历史沿革 [Badong County Historical Development] (in Simplified Chinese). XZQH.org. 6 August 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2019. 1996年初,巴东县面积3219平方千米,{...}2010年第六次人口普查,巴东县常住总人口420840人,其中:信陵镇60831人,东壤[sic]口镇22771人,沿渡河镇39607人,官渡口镇44157人,茶店子镇26510人,绿葱坡镇22533人,大支坪镇16901人,野三关镇61233人,水布垭镇39011人,清太坪镇31645人,溪丘湾乡36477人,金果坪乡19164人。
  2. ^ 行政区划 [Administrative Divisions] (in Simplified Chinese). Badong County People's Government. Retrieved 24 January 2019. 1.官渡口镇{...}2.水布垭镇{...}3.绿葱坡镇{...}4.金果坪乡{...}5.茶店子镇{...}6.野三关镇{...}7.溪丘湾乡{...}8.信陵镇{...}9.清太坪镇{...}10.沿渡河镇{...}11.东瀼口镇{...}12.大支坪镇{...}
  3. ^ 2017年统计用区划代码和城乡划分代码:巴东县 [2017 Statistical Area Numbers and Rural-Urban Area Numbers: Badong County] (in Simplified Chinese). National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China. 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2019. 统计用区划代码 名称 422823100000 信陵镇 422823101000 东瀼口镇 422823102000 沿渡河镇 422823103000 官渡口镇 422823104000 茶店子镇 422823105000 绿葱坡镇 422823106000 大支坪镇 422823107000 野三关镇 422823108000 水布垭镇 422823109000 清太坪镇 422823200000 溪丘湾乡 422823201000 金果坪乡
  4. ^ 中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  5. ^ 中国气象数据网 (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  6. ^ "回"家"别买错票 巴东两火车站有新名". Archived from the original on 2022-02-26. 2月21日,记者从巴东县铁路建设委员会办公室获悉,现巴东站更名为野三关站

External links[edit]