Yingxiu () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

of southern

Wenchuan County Wenchuan County is a County (People's Republic of China), county in Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, China. The county has an area of , and a population of 100,771 as of 2010. Wolong National Nature Reserve is a protected ...

, in central

Sichuan Province Sichuan is a Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capita ...

. It is located at the southern end of the

Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, also known as Aba (; Qiang language, Qiang: ; zh, s=阿坝藏族羌族自治州, t=阿壩藏族羌族自治州), is an autonomous prefecture of northwestern Sichuan, bordering Gansu to the north and ...

, and lies on the road to Jiuzhaigou Valley, Wolong and the Siguniang Mountains. It is located south of the county urban centre, and just west of the city of

Dujiangyan The Dujiangyan () is an ancient irrigation system in Dujiangyan City, Sichuan, China. Originally constructed around 256 BC by the State of Qin as an irrigation and flood control project, it is still in use today. The system's infrastructure dev ...

. The town has an area of , and a population of 5,829 people as of 2021. The town's average elevation is approximately above sea level. It is at the

epicentre The epicenter (), epicentre, or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Determination The primary purpose of a s ...

and one of the worst hit areas of the

2008 Sichuan earthquake An earthquake occurred in the province of Sichuan, China at 14:28:01 China Standard Time on May 12, 2008. Measuring at 8.0 (7.9–8.3 ), the earthquake's epicenter was located boxing the compass, west-northwest of Chengdu, the provincial ...

. 80% of the town was destroyed and 5,462 people died. The collapsed Xuankou Middle School became one of the most memorable images of the disaster, and is now part of a memorial site. Benevolence Square, a monument built by the Chinese government at the epicentre of the earthquake, contains a huge boulder lying below the surface and surrounded by a moat. A plaque, in Chinese and English, reads "Benevolence Square: It was arable land before the earthquake".

History

Yingxiu was established as a

People's commune The people's commune ( zh, c=, p=rénmín gōngshè) was the highest of three administrative levels in rural areas of the People's Republic of China during the period from 1958 to 1983, until they were replaced by Townships of the People's Rep ...

in 1958. In 1980, Yingxiu was changed to a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

. In 1984, Yingxiu was changed to a

, which it remains today. Yingxiu Wenchuan County 07-28-2005

Following the

, the

government built 479 resettlement homes for families displaced by the earthquake, which now constitute part of Xiuping Community. On December 18, 2019, was merged into Yingxiu.

Administrative divisions

Yingxiu is divided into one

residential community A residential community is a community, usually a small town or city, that is composed mostly of residents, as opposed to commercial businesses and/or industrial facilities, all three of which are considered to be the three main types o ...

and six administrative villages: * Xiuping Community () * Zhongtanbao Village () * Yuzixi Village () * Huangjiayuan Village () * Dongjienao Village () * Yiwanshui Village () * Taoguan Village ()

Demographics

The

government reports that, as of 2021, Yingxiu is home to 5,829 people, living in 1,999 households. As of 2019, prior to the merger with , the town was home to 2,644 people, living in 1,106 households. In the 2010 Chinese Census, the town's population was recorded at 2,468. This is a notable decline from 2007, when it was recorded to have a population of 6,906, and an even further decline from 2000, when the population was 7,977. A 1996 estimate placed the town's population at around 7,000 people.

References

External links

Yingxiu: epicentre of the earthquake
– ''The Guardian''
Wenchuan County Government Website
Towns in Sichuan Wenchuan County Populated places destroyed by earthquakes {{Sichuan-geo-stub