Full Name: Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture

Chinese Name: 湘西土家族苗族自治州（xiāng xī tǔ jiā zú miáo zú zì zhì zhōu)

Population: 2,683,400  

Area: 15,462 square kilometers (5,970 square miles) 

Nationalities: Tujia, Miao, Han 

Administrative Divisions: 7 counties (Luxi, Fenghuang, Huayuan, Baojing, Guzhang, Yongshun, Longshan); 1 county-level city (Jishou)  

Seat of the Prefecture Government: 58, Renmin Bei Lu, Jishou City 

Useful Telephone Numbers: Tourist Complaints: 0743-8223683
                                          Weather Forecast: 121
                                           Zip Code Inquiry: 184

Bank of China Jishou Branch: Renmin Bei Lu, Jishou City 

China Post Xiangxi Branch: 62, Renmin Bei Lu, Jishou City

Location: Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture is located in the northwest of Hunan Province, neighboring Zhangjiajie to the east and Huaihua to the south. It is also bordered by Guizhou Province and the city of Chongqing to the west and Hubei Province to the north.       

History: The history of Xiangxi can be traced back to the Warring States Period (476BC-221BC), when it was dominated by the Chu State. In the following thousands of years, its administrative system has changed many times. It wasn't until 1952 that Xiangxi Miao Autonomous Region was established and changed to Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture five years later.       
 
Physical Features: The prefecture lies in the convergent area on the northeast fringe of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and Mountainous Region in western Hubei. Its terrain slopes downward from the northwest to the southeast. The Wuling Mountains zigzag through Xiangxi. There are well developed karst landforms distributed in the southwest and rivers crisscrossing among the hills in the western and eastern regions of the prefecture.              

Climatic Features: Xiangxi bears a subtropical humid monsoon climate with an annual average temperature of 15.8-16.9℃ (60.4-62.4℉). The weather is moderate all the year round, and bursts of precipitation become much more common in spring and summer.   
     
When to Go: Spring and autumn are the best periods to travel in Xiangxi.  

Special Local Products: silver ornaments and brocade articles of the Miao, printed and dyed cotton fabric, kudzu vine root tea, pomelo, Chinese gooseberry of Fenghuang County, boletus mushroom of Jishou City

Local Highlights: Tujia and Miao ethnic minorities make up nearly eighty-five percent of the prefecture's total population. The Miao people living in Jishou City still maintain their traditional folkways. Apart from the festivals common to the Han, they celebrate their own festivals and song fests. For example, young boys and girls will sing responsively to each other in the open air on the third day of the third lunar month. Furthermore, there are also some rituals held at set times to pray for blessings or make sacrifices to ancestors.

Going to a fair is called Gan Chang by locals. One may not really visit Xiangxi if one does not go to the local fairs in Miao towns. In the fairs, visitors can see the most distinctive aboriginal people of local ethnic minorities. Laershan, Heku and Shanjiang of Fenghuang County are well known Miao fairs in Xiangxi. Peddlers from other counties as well as Guizhou and Sichuan will come to these towns to sell or exchange goods. For visitors, they are a shopping paradise to buy their favorite folk handicrafts of good quality and at very reasonable prices.

 Attractions:
Feng Huang Cheng (Phoenix Town), also called Tuojiang Town, is the county seat of Fenghuang County. About 28 kilometers (17 miles) west of Fenghuang Cheng in the Old City of Huangsiqiao is the most perfectly preserved stone castle, first built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). 

Furong Zhen (Hibiscus Town) is an old town where the Tujia ethnic minority lives in a compact community. The bluestone pavement and resident houses on stilts are still well preserved. Not far from the town, there is the Mengdong River. It is an exciting resort especially suitable for rafting. In the Hanigong to Hou'ertiao section, the whole course takes five hours. After arriving the Hou'ertiao, visitors can continue to yacht to Furong Town.

Travel Tips:
1. Visitors can first arrived in Huaihua City and get a bus to Fenghuang Cheng, or they can fly to Zhangjiajie and go to the Mengdong River from Zhangjiajie by train, change trains at Mengdonghe Railway station to the capital city of Xiangxi, Jishou, in an hour and then take buses to Fenghuang Cheng. In Jishou, buses to Fenghuang Cheng are available easily and depart every a few minutes. 

2. There is no airport in Xiangxi. Zhangjiajie Lotus (Hehua) Airport is the nearest transfer station to get in and out of Xiangxi. Visitors can choose Jishou Railway Station and Huaihua Railway Station as transfer stations too. There are trains from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou to Jishou and Huaihua. Jishou Long-distance Bus Station on Wuling Lu is not far from the railway station, where buses to Fenghuang County, Zhangjiajie and Huaihua can be easily found.