# Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture

Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture in northwestern Yunnan, China. The titular ethnic group is the Lisu people, who make up nearly half of the prefecture's population.
The state is long and narrow, with an area of 14,585 square kilometers and a total population of 552,700. The capital of the state is located in Liuku Town, Lushui City. Nujiang Prefecture is the only Lisu Autonomous Prefecture in China, with the Lisu ethnic group accounting for about 51% of the population, and a number of other ethnic minorities, including the Bai, Nu, Pumi and Dulong, living in the prefecture.
Economically, due to geographic constraints, the incidence of poverty in Nujiang was once as high as 56%, which is at a backward level in both China and Yunnan Province, and is one of the "Three Regions and Three Prefectures" in China that are extremely poor. Because of its location in the Hengduan Mountains, Nujiang has the natural wonder of "Three Parallel Rivers", which was inscribed on the UNESCO's World Natural Heritage List in 2003.

## Name

It is named after the Nujiang river (the longest undammed river in Southeast Asia) and the Lisu ethnic group.

## Administration

The seat of the prefecture is Liuku Town, Lushui.
The prefecture is subdivided into four county-level divisions: one county-level city, one county, and two autonomous counties:
Map :
| Lushui (city) Fugong County Gongshan County Lanping County ||||||
| Name | Hanzi | Hanyu Pinyin | Population (2010 Census) | Area (km$^2$) | Density (/km$^2$) |
| Lushui | 泸水市 | Lúshuǐ Shì | 184,835 | 2,938 | 62.91 |
| Fugong County | 福贡县 | Fúgòng Xiàn | 98,616 | 2,804 | 35.16 |
| Gongshan Derung and Nu Autonomous County | 贡山独龙族怒族自治县 | Gòngshān Dúlóngzú Nùzú Zìzhìxiàn | 37,894 | 4,506 | 8.40 |
| Lanping Bai and Pumi Autonomous County | 兰坪白族普米族自治县 | Lánpíng Báizú Pǔmǐzú Zìzhìxiàn | 212,992 | 4,455 | 47.80 |

## Demographics

According to the 2020 Census, Nujiang has 534,337 inhabitants with a population density of 33.45 inhabitants/km$^2$.
Ethnic groups in Nujiang, 2010 census :
| Nationality | Population | Percentage(%) |
| Lisu | 280,179 | 50.69 |
| Bai | 138,191 | 25.00 |
| Han | 59,056 | 10.69 |
| Nu | 31,976 | 5.79 |
| Pumi | 17,491 | 3.16 |
| Yi | 11,758 | 2.34 |
| Dulong | 6,041 | 1.09 |
| Zang | 1,843 | 0.33 |
| Naxi | 1,529 | 0.28 |
| Dai | 695 | 0.13 |
| Others | 2,756 | 0.5 |

## Geography

The Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture borders the Kachin State of Myanmar to the west, with a national border of 450 kilometers. It is bordered by Nyingchi (Linzhi) City of Tibet Autonomous Region in the north, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province in the east and Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in the south. Located in the canyon area of the Hengduan Mountains, the Salween River (Nujiang) passes through from north to south, from which the name of the state is derived. It forms part of the Three Parallel Rivers, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

## Biodiversity

The prefecture gets its name from the Chinese part of the Salween River (known as the "Nujiang River" in chinese). The Salween is the longest undammed river in Southeast Asia and high degree of biodiversity.
In terms of animals, there are 205 species of mammals in the Prefecture in 8 orders, 25 families, and 74 genera, accounting for 30.9% of the total number of mammals in China and 52% of the total number of mammals in Yunnan. There are 525 species (including subspecies) of birds, accounting for more than half of the total number of birds in Yunnan Province; there are 52 species of amphibians, accounting for 1/5 of the total number of birds in Yunnan Province; there are 76 species of reptiles, accounting for 1/3 of the total number of reptiles in Yunnan Province; there are 49 species and subspecies of fishes, and more than 1720 species of insects have been recorded in Nujiang Prefecture. More than 1720 species have been recorded.
In 2011 a new species of Snub-Nosed monkeys, named the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus strykeri), was discovered in the Gaoligong Mountains, on the border area of the Nujiang Prefecture and Myanmar.