Sandu Shui Autonomous County (Chinese: 三都水族自治县; pinyin: Sāndū Shuǐzú Zìzhìxiàn; Bouyei: Sanyduy Suijzuf Ziqziqxianq) is an autonomous county in the southeast of Guizhou province, China. It is under the administration of the Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, and the only Shui Autonomous County in China; 63% of Shui in China live in this county, which is the heartland of the Shui people.[4] Per a 2022 county government publication, Sandu has a population of 381,000, 97% of whom belong to ethnic minorities, and 67% of the total population are Shui.[5]
It is one of the poorest counties of Guizhou.[6] Most of the county is forested and it is noted for its clean air.[7][8]
Sandu County's urban center is located 68 kilometres (42 mi) from Duyun, the administrative center of the Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, and 177 kilometres (110 mi) from the provincial capital of Guiyang.[7]
All of Sandu belongs to the watershed of the Liu River which flows into the Pearl River. The Duliu River has its source in Sandu and flows into the Liu River. The county is rather mountainous with Karst landscape resulting in large locale temperature and climate differences. Antimony is mined commercially in Sandu.[1]
Climate
Climate data for Sandu, elevation 448 m (1,470 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010)
As of 2021, Sandu Shui Autonomous County has a registered hukou population of 380,871, of which, 96,869 belong to urban areas, and the remaining 284,002 belong to rural areas, giving the autonomous county an urbanization rate of 25.43%.[12]
Per a 2022 county government publication, 67% of the autonomous county's population is ethnically Shui, another 30% belong to other recognized ethnic minorities, and just 3% of the population is ethnically Han Chinese.[5]
^ ab行政区划 [Administrative divisions] (in Chinese). Sandu Shui Autonomous County People's Government. 2022-05-17. Archived from the original on 2022-07-26. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
^ ab人口就业 [Population and employment] (in Chinese). Sandu Shui Autonomous County People's Government. 2022-05-17. Archived from the original on 2022-06-27. Retrieved 2022-07-26.