Gongshan Derung and Nu Autonomous County (;

Lisu Lisu may refer to: *Lisu people, an ethnic group of Southeast Asia *Lisu language, spoken by the Lisu people * Old Lisu Alphabet or Fraser Alphabet *Lisu syllabary * Lisu (Unicode block), the block of Unicode characters for the Lisu language. *Lisu ...

: ꓗꓳꓹ-ꓢ ꓔꓴꓽ-ꓡꓳꓽ ꓫꓵꓽ ꓠꓳꓸ ꓫꓵꓽ ꓚꓲꓸ ꓛꓬꓽ ꓗꓪꓼ ꓫꓵꓽ ꓫꓯꓹ;

Derung The Derung (also spelt ''Drung'' or ''Dulong'') people (; endonym: ) are an ethnic group. They form one of the List of ethnic groups in China, 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by China. Their population of 6,000 is found in the Nujiang Li ...

: Koksang, the name has nothing to do with the Derung language for

Gaoligong Mountains The Gaoligong Mountains () are a mountainous sub-range of the southern Hengduan Mountain Range, located in the western Yunnan highlands and straddling the border of southwestern China and northern Myanmar (Burma). Geography The Gaoligong Mount ...

) is an

autonomous county Autonomous counties () and autonomous banners () are county-level autonomous administrative divisions of China. The two are essentially identical except in name. There are 117 autonomous counties and three autonomous banners. The latter are ...

located in

Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture Nùjiāng Lisu Autonomous Prefecture () is an autonomous prefecture of western/northwestern Yunnan province, People's Republic of China. Name It is named after the Nujiang river (the longest undammed river in Southeast Asia) and the Lisu ethnic ...

, in the northwest of

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...

province, China. It has an area of and a population of about 37,894 according to the 2010 Census. The county government is stationed in Cikai Town (

: Svkeun) The Nu people in Gongshan (Vnung'long) belongs to the Anu branch (Vnung) and use the Anu language (Nujiang dialect of the Derung language).

Etymology

The county is named after the

(), which run through the county. The country is known historically as Chamutong or Tramutang.

Administrative divisions

The county is divided into two

towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and three

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

History

The People's Liberation Army took the county on August 25, 1949, and a provisional government was set up on March 11, 1950. On April 8, the Gongshan County People's Government was established. In October 1956, Gongshan County was changed to Gongshan Derung and Nu Autonomous County.

Geography

Gongshan occupies the northmost part of

, and has a latitude with a range of 27°29’ to 28°23’N, and a longitude with a range of 98°08’ to 98°56’E. The county covers an area of , and borders

Zayü County Zayul County ()
KNAB, retrieved 5 July 2021. Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions of � ...

to the north, and

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

to the west. The county's boundary with Burma is 172.008 kilometers in length, and the county's boundary with Tibet is 135 kilometers. It is located in the Hengduan Mountains, and with the

Salween , ''Mae Nam Salawin'' ( , name_etymology = , image = Sweet_View_of_Salween_River_in_Tang_Yan_Township,_Shan_State,_Myanmar.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Salween River in Shan State, Myanmar , map ...

and N'Mai rivers running through the county. The N'Mai River is known for its green appearance. In the spring, flowers blossom in the fields and gardens of . The county's three major mountain ranges are the Biluo Snow Mountains (), the

, and the . File:1.the first bend of Nu river.jpg, The Salween River flowing through Gongshan File:5.southern Chinese riverside town——Ridang.jpg, Ridang, Gongshan

Climate

Demographics

The county's population as of the

2010 Chinese Census The 2010 Chinese census, officially the Sixth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (中華人民共和國第六次全國人口普查), was conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China w ...

was 37,894, up from the 34,746 recorded in the

2000 Chinese Census The 2000 Chinese census, officially the Fifth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (), was conducted by the government of the People's Republic of China with 1 November 2000 as its zero hour. The total population was calcula ...

, and the 33,000 people estimated to be living in the county as of 1996. As of 2003, 34,622 people were living in the county, of which, 83.8% lived in rural areas. The ethnic composition of the county in 2003 was 51.7%

, 18.2% Nu, 14.7%

, 4.6% Tibetan, 6.3% other officially recognized ethnic groups, and the remaining 4.5% belonging to unrecognized ethnic groups.

Economy

Mineral deposits in the county include

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

white marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphosed ...

, and mutton fat jade ().

Culture

Gongshan is a notoriously remote place, isolated by its mountains and gorges. National Geographic author Joseph F. Rock came to the area during the 1920s and early 1930s, and wrote about the area in several articles for National Geographic Magazine. He described Gongshan as a virgin land where no white man had ever came before, and as a paradise for explorers, photographers and botanists. The county's

and Nu people host numerous ethnic festivals. File:K.peach flower festival.jpg, Peach flower festival in Gongshan File:L.water mill.jpg, Water mill in Gongshan File:A.the cross.jpg, Salween River in Gongshan, Yunnan

Piao Niu Wu

Piao Niu Wu (, literally "slaughter cattle dance") is a traditional ceremony of the

Derung People The Derung (also spelt ''Drung'' or ''Dulong'') people (; endonym: ) are an ethnic group. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by China. Their population of 6,000 is found in the Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Yun ...

unique to Gongshan County. Traditionally performed during Derung New Year, the ceremony is prepared by tying a cattle to a sacrificial pole with traditional Derung rope, placing bead ornaments on the cattle, and placing other material sacrifices in front of it. The host of the ceremony then leads a prayer, and another man pierces the cattle's heart with a bamboo spear once the prayer is finished. Before preparing the dead cattle for further use, the ceremony host performs a ritual fortune-telling. This follows with traditional song and dance. In modern times, the festival has become less common, and is typically for entertainment purposes, rather than spiritual ones.

References

External links

Gongshan County
{{authority control County-level divisions of Nujiang Prefecture Autonomous counties of the People's Republic of China