# Mianning County

Mianning County (Chinese: 冕宁县, Yi: ꍿꆈꑤ, Tibetan: མེན་ཉིང་རྫོང་།) is a county of Sichuan Province, China. It is under the administration of the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture.

## History

Mianning County has a long history of being a multi-ethnic region. The Annals of Mianning County (冕宁县志), published during the reign of the Xianfeng Emperor (1850-1861), listed a number of major ethnic groups in the region, including the Tosu, Lizu, Yi, and the Namuzi peoples.

## Climate

Climate data for Mianning, elevation 1,774 m (5,820 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 22.1 (71.8) | 25.6 (78.1) | 31.4 (88.5) | 32.4 (90.3) | 33.8 (92.8) | 33.2 (91.8) | 33.3 (91.9) | 32.9 (91.2) | 32.0 (89.6) | 29.0 (84.2) | 25.6 (78.1) | 21.4 (70.5) | 33.8 (92.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 14.6 (58.3) | 17.2 (63.0) | 21.1 (70.0) | 24.1 (75.4) | 25.5 (77.9) | 25.2 (77.4) | 26.4 (79.5) | 26.6 (79.9) | 23.2 (73.8) | 20.1 (68.2) | 17.7 (63.9) | 14.4 (57.9) | 21.3 (70.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 6.1 (43.0) | 8.3 (46.9) | 11.8 (53.2) | 15.3 (59.5) | 18.2 (64.8) | 19.6 (67.3) | 20.9 (69.6) | 20.7 (69.3) | 18.1 (64.6) | 15.0 (59.0) | 11.1 (52.0) | 7.1 (44.8) | 14.4 (57.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −0.2 (31.6) | 1.2 (34.2) | 4.4 (39.9) | 8.5 (47.3) | 12.8 (55.0) | 15.9 (60.6) | 17.3 (63.1) | 16.9 (62.4) | 14.9 (58.8) | 11.6 (52.9) | 6.4 (43.5) | 1.9 (35.4) | 9.3 (48.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −6.3 (20.7) | −7.6 (18.3) | −3.8 (25.2) | −0.9 (30.4) | 4.3 (39.7) | 8.5 (47.3) | 11.4 (52.5) | 10.6 (51.1) | 7.2 (45.0) | 3.6 (38.5) | −4.0 (24.8) | −6.3 (20.7) | −7.6 (18.3) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 2.7 (0.11) | 4.6 (0.18) | 16.7 (0.66) | 40.5 (1.59) | 96.8 (3.81) | 206.0 (8.11) | 269.0 (10.59) | 195.9 (7.71) | 176.3 (6.94) | 65.8 (2.59) | 13.9 (0.55) | 2.5 (0.10) | 1,090.7 (42.94) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 2.2 | 2.7 | 7.3 | 11.9 | 16.3 | 22.0 | 21.2 | 19.1 | 19.3 | 14.4 | 5.4 | 1.9 | 143.7 |
| Average snowy days | 1.7 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 4.9 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 61 | 56 | 56 | 59 | 64 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 81 | 74 | 70 | 66 | 68 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 201.7 | 197.1 | 224.0 | 216.4 | 185.7 | 110.8 | 127.9 | 147.1 | 90.2 | 102.8 | 153.3 | 172.2 | 1,929.2 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 61 | 62 | 60 | 56 | 44 | 27 | 30 | 37 | 25 | 29 | 48 | 54 | 44 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration ||||||||||||||

## Administrative divisions

Mianning County administers 1 subdistrict, 15 towns, 2 townships, and 1 ethnic township.
| Name | Simplified Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Yi | Romanized Yi | Administrative division code |
| Subdistrict ||||||
| Gaoyang Subdistrict | 高阳街道 | Gāoyáng Jiēdào | ꇨꑸꏦꈜ | guo yiep jie gga | 513433001 |
| Towns ||||||
| Manshuiwan Town | 漫水湾镇 | Mànshuǐwān Zhèn | ꂮꎹꃔꍔ | mit shep fap zhep | 513433101 |
| Daqiao Town | 大桥镇 | Dàqiáo Zhèn | ꄊꐇꍔ | dap quop zhep | 513433102 |
| Fuxing Town | 复兴镇 | Fùxīng Zhèn | ꃛꑟꍔ | fup xi zhep | 513433103 |
| Lugu Town | 泸沽镇 | Lúgū Zhèn | ꆹꇬꍔ | li go zhep | 513433104 |
| Yihai Town | 彝海镇 | Yíhǎi Zhèn | ꎿꀸꍔ | shur pit zhep | 513433106 |
| Shilong Town | 石龙镇 | Shílóng Zhèn | ꏃꇊꍔ | shyp lop zhep | 513433107 |
| Hebian Town | 河边镇 | Hébiān Zhèn | ꉼꀘꍔ | hop bi zhep | 513433109 |
| Jinping Town | 锦屏镇 | Jǐnpíng Zhèn | ꏢꀻꍔ | ji pip zhep | 513433110 |
| Lizhuang Town | 里庄镇 | Lǐzhuāng Zhèn | ꅿꍋꍔ | ni zhuo zhep | 513433112 |
| Hui'an Town | 惠安镇 | Huì'ān Zhèn | ꉼꉢꍔ | hop nga zhep | 513433113 |
| Hongmo Town | 宏模镇 | Hóngmó Zhèn | ꉼꃆꍔ | hop mup zhep | 513433114 |
| Zeyuan Town | 泽远镇 | Zéyuǎn Zhèn | ꊱꑻꍔ | cip yuo zhep | 513433115 |
| Ruoshui Town | 若水镇 | Ruòshuǐ Zhèn | ꏌꎳꍔ | ruop shox zhep | 513433116 |
| Miansha Town | 棉沙镇 | Miánshā Zhèn | ꂴꎭꍔ | miep sha zhep | 513433117 |
| Mofanggou Town | 磨房沟镇 | Mófánggōu Zhèn | ꃀꃔꇬꍔ | mop fap go zhep | 513433118 |
| Townships ||||||
| Xinxing Township | 新兴乡 | Xīnxīng Xiāng | ꑝꑟꑣ | xit xi xie | 513433230 |
| Jianmei Township | 健美乡 | Jiànměi Xiāng | ꏧꂮꑣ | xjiep mit xie | 513433231 |
| Ethnic township ||||||
| Ho'ê Tibetan Ethnic Township (He'ai) | 和爱藏族乡 | Hé'ài Zàngzú Xiāng | ꉼꉟꀒꋤꑣ | hop ngiep op zzup xie | 513433226 |

## Ethnic groups

A large number of the Tosu ethnic group, which comprises about 2,000 people, live throughout Mianning County. Sizable clusters of Tosu people are located within Gaoyang Subdistrict, the former town of Houshan (后山镇, now part of Shilong), Fuxing, Hui'an, the former township of Haha (哈哈乡, now part of Gaoyang Subdistrict and Ruoshui), the former township of Linli (林里乡, now part of Fuxing), and the former town of Shaba (沙坝镇, now part of Manshuiwan).

## Languages

Two of the three Ersuic languages, the critically endangered Tosu language, and the Lizu language, are spoken within Mianning County. A 2013 survey found nine partial speakers of the Tosu language, all of whom lived in Mianning County, and were proficient in Southwestern Mandarin, which they used for daily life.