# Butuo County

Butuo County (Chinese: 布拖县, Yi: ꀭꄮꑤ) is a county of southern Sichuan Province, China. It is under the administration of the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture. It was incorporated in 1952, and has continuously existed since 1960. The name 'Butou' is based on the Yi language words for hedgehog and pine tree, giving it the name "a place with hedgehogs and pine trees". It is the unofficial capital of the Yi People and the birthplace of the Torch Festival. The county has a population of 215,800, 97.2% of whom are Yi People.
Butuo is considered very impoverished, traditional and still significantly influenced by the legacy of feudalism and slavery, which was only reformed in the 1950s. Most villagers make a living through animal husbandry. Almost all of the non-agrarian economy is concentrated in the county seat. It is a 'key county' for National Poverty Alleviation and Development work, with as of 2018, 122 poverty-stricken designated villages in the county, and 57,000 poor people.
The bamboo mouth harp (Kouxian) of Butou County was included as intangible cultural heritage of the Yi People.

## Administrative divisions

Butuo County administers 8 towns and 4 townships.
| Name | Simplified Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Yi | Romanized Yi | Administrative division code |
| Towns ||||||
| Temuli Town | 特木里镇 | Tèmùlǐ Zhèn | ꄮꃅꄸꍔ | te mu ddi zhep | 513429100 |
| Longtan Town | 龙潭镇 | Lóngtán Zhèn | ꇊꄤꍔ | lop tap zhep | 513429101 |
| Tuojue Town | 拖觉镇 | Tuōjué Zhèn | ꄮꐦꍔ | te jjop zhep | 513429102 |
| Jiudu Town | 九都镇 | Jiǔdū Zhèn | ꏮꅍꍔ | jo ddu zhep | 513429103 |
| Le'an Town | 乐安镇 | Lè'ān Zhèn | ꇅꉠꍔ | luo ngat zhep | 513429104 |
| Eliping Town | 俄里坪镇 | Élǐpíng Zhèn | ꀒꑌꀻꍔ | op nyi pip zhep | 513429105 |
| Diluo Town | 地洛镇 | Dìluò Zhèn | ꄹꇉꍔ | ddip lo zhep | 513429106 |
| Niujiaowan Town | 牛角湾镇 | Niújiǎowān Zhèn | ꑘꇬꃪꍔ | nyop go vat zhep | 513429107 |
| Townships ||||||
| Bu'er Township | 补尔乡 | Bǔ'ěr Xiāng | ꀭꇐꑣ | bux lu xie | 513429206 |
| Laguo Township | 拉果乡 | Lāguǒ Xiāng | ꆿꈤꑣ | lat ggo xie | 513429209 |
| Weizhiluo Township | 委只洛乡 | Wěizhīluò Xiāng | ꃢꋝꇉꑣ | vit zzo lo xie | 513429224 |
| Jizhi Township | 基只乡 | Jīzhī Xiāng | ꏸꍝꑣ | jy zhy xie | 513429226 |

## Climate

The altitude of Butuo County is about 2,460 m (8,070 ft), which makes it have a subtropical highland climate (Cwb).
Climate data for Butuo, elevation 2,460 m (8,070 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) | 21.3 (70.3) | 24.1 (75.4) | 26.5 (79.7) | 28.8 (83.8) | 29.9 (85.8) | 29.7 (85.5) | 28.9 (84.0) | 28.5 (83.3) | 29.5 (85.1) | 25.9 (78.6) | 22.3 (72.1) | 21.7 (71.1) | 29.9 (85.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 10.2 (50.4) | 12.6 (54.7) | 16.9 (62.4) | 19.8 (67.6) | 21.3 (70.3) | 21.5 (70.7) | 22.8 (73.0) | 22.7 (72.9) | 20.0 (68.0) | 16.3 (61.3) | 13.9 (57.0) | 10.3 (50.5) | 17.4 (63.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 2.5 (36.5) | 5.0 (41.0) | 8.6 (47.5) | 12.0 (53.6) | 14.5 (58.1) | 16.1 (61.0) | 17.3 (63.1) | 16.8 (62.2) | 14.5 (58.1) | 10.6 (51.1) | 6.8 (44.2) | 3.0 (37.4) | 10.6 (51.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −2.6 (27.3) | −0.4 (31.3) | 2.7 (36.9) | 6.2 (43.2) | 9.4 (48.9) | 12.4 (54.3) | 13.4 (56.1) | 12.8 (55.0) | 10.8 (51.4) | 7.2 (45.0) | 2.2 (36.0) | −1.5 (29.3) | 6.1 (42.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −17.4 (0.7) | −12.4 (9.7) | −9.3 (15.3) | −9.5 (14.9) | 0.0 (32.0) | 4.7 (40.5) | 4.8 (40.6) | 3.4 (38.1) | 0.8 (33.4) | −2.3 (27.9) | −11.2 (11.8) | −25.4 (−13.7) | −25.4 (−13.7) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 15.9 (0.63) | 17.2 (0.68) | 31.4 (1.24) | 59.3 (2.33) | 115.4 (4.54) | 234.0 (9.21) | 205.8 (8.10) | 156.5 (6.16) | 154.9 (6.10) | 97.2 (3.83) | 27.1 (1.07) | 13.6 (0.54) | 1,128.3 (44.43) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 7.6 | 7.6 | 10.6 | 12.4 | 15.7 | 20.9 | 20.2 | 19.1 | 18.1 | 18.5 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 171.2 |
| Average snowy days | 7.9 | 6.6 | 4.1 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 2.5 | 5.9 | 28.9 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 67 | 61 | 60 | 64 | 71 | 81 | 82 | 81 | 83 | 84 | 77 | 74 | 74 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 183.5 | 185.8 | 227.6 | 221.2 | 201.1 | 135.0 | 147.1 | 158.2 | 130.9 | 130.8 | 167.6 | 162.6 | 2,051.4 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 56 | 58 | 61 | 57 | 48 | 32 | 35 | 39 | 36 | 37 | 52 | 51 | 47 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration ||||||||||||||