Wushan County, Chongqing

Wushan
巫山县
Wushan, Wu Gorge and Wushan Yangtze River Bridge
Wushan, Wu Gorge and Wushan Yangtze River Bridge
Map
Location of Wushan County in Chongqing
Location of Wushan County in Chongqing
Coordinates: 31°04′37″N 109°52′42″E / 31.0769°N 109.8782158°E / 31.0769; 109.8782158
CountryPeople's Republic of China
MunicipalityChongqing
Area
 • Total2,958.2 km2 (1,142.2 sq mi)
Population
 (2010)[1]
 • Total495,072
 • Density170/km2 (430/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard)

Wushan County (Chinese: 巫山; pinyin: Wūshān Xiàn) is a county located in Chongqing municipality. It occupies roughly 2,958 km2 (1,142 sq mi) and has a population of about 600,000.

The county seat is located at the western entrance to the Wu Gorge in the Three Gorges region. Wushan is famous for its Little Three Gorges (小三峡) located on the nearby Daning River.

The Wushan county seat is on the northern bank of the Yangtze River channel, which in the Gorges region was flooded after the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. The original town was abandoned and submerged under the rising waters, and the new town constructed on the hills above.

Wushan Yangtze River Bridge
Daninghe River Bridge

The population of the town is something in excess of 100,000, and the main economic activity in the area is coal mining, almost all from very small mines in the surrounding mountains. Tourism also plays a role, although tourist activity is not as great as it was before the flooding of the Gorges in the first decade of the 21st century. The Little Three Gorges are no longer as deep or as spectacular as they once were.

The county is served by Chongqing Wushan Airport which opened in August 2019.

Mount Wushan is located east of the county.

In the novel World War Z, Dachang village was the origin of the virus' patient zero.

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