Zigui
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/QuYuan-Xiling-Gorge-5008.jpg/220px-QuYuan-Xiling-Gorge-5008.jpg)
The county seat of Zigui is now the town of Maoping (茅坪镇; Máopíng Zhèn), situated a few kilometers west of the Three Gorges Dam on the high southern shore of the river. The original Zigui town was upstream to the west and was abandoned and submerged under the rising waters of the reservoir in the early years of the 21st century. As it is common in China, Maoping is typically labelled as "Zigui County" (秭归县) or simply "Zigui" (秭归) on most maps.
Administrative divisions
Eight towns:
- Maoping (茅坪镇), Guizhou (归州镇), Quyuan (屈原镇), Shazhenxi (沙镇溪镇), Lianghekou (两河口镇), Guojiaba (郭家坝镇), Yanglinqiao (杨林桥镇), Jiuwanxi (九畹溪镇)
Four townships:
Climate
Climate data for Zigui (1991–2020 normals) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 8.7 (47.7) |
11.6 (52.9) |
17.3 (63.1) |
23.1 (73.6) |
26.7 (80.1) |
30.0 (86.0) |
32.3 (90.1) |
31.8 (89.2) |
27.5 (81.5) |
22.1 (71.8) |
16.6 (61.9) |
10.9 (51.6) |
21.5 (70.8) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 5.0 (41.0) |
7.4 (45.3) |
11.9 (53.4) |
17.3 (63.1) |
21.3 (70.3) |
24.9 (76.8) |
27.0 (80.6) |
26.5 (79.7) |
22.8 (73.0) |
17.6 (63.7) |
12.4 (54.3) |
7.1 (44.8) |
16.8 (62.2) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 2.5 (36.5) |
4.4 (39.9) |
8.2 (46.8) |
13.2 (55.8) |
17.4 (63.3) |
21.2 (70.2) |
23.6 (74.5) |
23.1 (73.6) |
19.5 (67.1) |
14.6 (58.3) |
9.5 (49.1) |
4.5 (40.1) |
13.5 (56.3) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 24.5 (0.96) |
39.9 (1.57) |
57.8 (2.28) |
113.3 (4.46) |
143.7 (5.66) |
162.0 (6.38) |
238.9 (9.41) |
219.6 (8.65) |
123.5 (4.86) |
103.6 (4.08) |
50.2 (1.98) |
20.2 (0.80) |
1,297.2 (51.09) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 8.4 | 9.6 | 11.5 | 12.7 | 14.4 | 13.8 | 17.1 | 14.9 | 12.5 | 11.9 | 10.1 | 8.0 | 144.9 |
Average snowy days | 4.0 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 8.1 |
Average relative humidity (%) | 73 | 73 | 72 | 73 | 76 | 78 | 81 | 80 | 78 | 79 | 78 | 73 | 76 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 79.8 | 81.1 | 121.9 | 145.0 | 148.7 | 144.9 | 169.6 | 181.3 | 125.4 | 111.3 | 105.7 | 90.7 | 1,505.4 |
Percent possible sunshine | 25 | 26 | 33 | 37 | 35 | 34 | 40 | 45 | 34 | 32 | 34 | 29 | 34 |
Source: China Meteorological Administration |
Tourism
A good view of the Three Gorges Dam, and of an ancillary dam further south, can be had from Maoping's riverside parks.
Economy
Most of Zigui is hilly or mountainous with basic farming and tea production. There are many small coal mines in the mountains, with the coal trucked to the river then loaded onto barges for shipping downstream.
Transportation
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Maoping-dockside-funicular-4948.jpg/220px-Maoping-dockside-funicular-4948.jpg)
Passenger boats and ferries travelling up and down the river can dock at the large passenger dock ("Zigui Harbor", 秭归港) at Maoping, or at Taipingxi Town on the north bank close to the Dam. Frequent bus service connects Maoping with the center city of Yichang to the east; there is also bus service to most towns in the county, as well as to the neighboring counties.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- "131 ancient Chinese 'hanging' coffins found on side of 100m cliff near Three Gorges Dam". South China Morning Post. 15 December 2015. Archived from the original on December 16, 2015.