An aerial view of Hechi's Dahua Yao autonomous county. [Photo/Hechi Daily]

Dahua Yao autonomous county is located to the south of Hechi city. Covering an area of 2,716 square kilometers, it is home to 487,000 people, according to statistics from 2019.

People from ethnic minority groups such as Yao and Zhuang account for 94.38 percent of the local population. The population of the Yao ethnic minority group in particular is 134,000, accounting for 27.5 percent of the total.

Dahua has abundant hydropower resources. Two hydropower stations - Dahua and Yantan - are located here, providing a hydropower generation capacity of 2.38 million kilowatts. Dahua's reservoir areas provide 4,260 hectares of aquaculture area, making it "the town of freshwater aquaculture".

The county is also home to a number of popular tourist attractions. Qibainong National Geological Park, which features a unique karst landscape, is listed as a national 4A-level scenic spot.

The county is also well known for its bronze drums, with more than 400 handed down in the county from generation to generation. Its specialties such as Qibainong chicken and Dahua fish are popular across China.