A Brief Review

　　Panzhihua is situated in the southwest of Sichuan and Northwest of Yunnan, bordering the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in the north and Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture and Lijiang City in the south.  It is a region with 41 ethnic groups such as Han, Yi, Lisu, Miao, Hui, Dai, etc.  The counties of Miyi and Yanbian originally under Xichang Prefecture, and Renhe District originally under Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture were reallocated to the jurisdiction of Panzhihua(formerly known as Dukou) upon its inauguration.

　　In March 4, 1987, the Municipality was renamed Panzhihua.  Under the administration of Panzhihua are three districts(East, West and Renhe) and two counties(Miyi and Yanbian).  In 1983, with approval of the provincial government, Renhe district, the counties of Miyi and Yanbian were entitled to power of autonomy.  Out of 17 minority towns (including 13 communes), 5 (including 2 communes) are situated in Renhe District, 5(including 4 communes) in Miyi County and 7 in Yanbian County.  Meanwhile, 14 of the towns are dominated by Yi ethnic groups, 2 by Lisu(Xinshan in Miyi and Qinghe in Yanbian) and 1 by Miao(Hongbao in Yanbian).  In addition to 17 minority towns accounting for 41% of 42 towns in total, there are 37 minority villages scattered among the Han towns.  Population of minorities is 150 thousand accounting for 14% of the total, and the four major ethnic groups are Yi with a population of 120 thousand, Lisu of 8,600, Hui of 3,400 and Miao of 3,400.