Sangzhi County fills the northwest of Zhangjiajie on the border with Hubei, a country of more than ten thousand hills drained by the headwaters of the Lishui. Tujia, Miao and Bai communities share its ridges, five of its townships designated for the Bai minority. Under the tusi system a native chieftaincy ruled here from Song times until the Qing reforms of 1727 brought regular administration. The county is the home of Marshal He Long, the Long March commander whose former residence at Hongjiaguan still draws visitors, and it holds the Badagongshan National Nature Reserve and Jiutian Cave.
Sangzhi fills Zhangjiajie's northwest on the Hubei border, a county of ten thousand hills that sent Marshal He Long into the world. Its ridges keep the tusi past, the Tujia calendar and a Bai minority presence that surprises visitors.