Gejiu

Gejiu is a city in Honghe prefecture, Yunnan province, China. It is the site of the country's largeast tin deposits and its main industry is mining.

Layout

The town is located in a crater-like depression on top of a mountain, centered around a lake. The main road enters the town from the north through a thin pass. To the east and west are steep cliffs. Those to the west are too steep to inhabit, however extensive new construction along the eastern side has created many new districts.

Ethnography

The city is primarily Han Chinese, however minorities such as the muslim Hui, Dai from the nearby Red River valley and Hani from the surrounding mountains (see Yuanyang) are present.

Location

Gejiu is located on top of a mountain to the north of the Red River (pinyin Hong He) valley, which flows from Tibet to Vietnam. To the south-west in this valley is Nansha, which lies directly below the town of Yuanyang. To the north-west lies Jianshui, and to the north Jijie.

History

The town is centered around a lake, however it is not naturally formed. According to locals during the 1950s the water welled up through the mines and flooded a large portion of the town, with the adjacent area being turned in to a park. Today the town is protected from further flooding by an underground spillway.