Wǔlíngshān

The Wǔlíng Mountains extend across the borderlands of Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou and Sichuan. Their ridges are cut by the Qīng, Yǒu, Lǐ and other rivers, creating a country of deep valleys and scattered uplands. Tujia communities have long inhabited these mountains alongside Miao, Han and other peoples. Hereditary chiefs governed many valleys under the Yuan and Ming, before Qing reforms replaced much of their authority with appointed officials in the eighteenth century.