Jishou has a history of more than 2,000 years dating back to the Qin dynasty. In those days, it was affiliated with Qianzhong Prefecture. During the Song dynasty, a town government was established in a stockaded village, Zhenxi, which in the Ming dynasty became the Zhenxi soldiers and civilians battalion. Qianzhou Prefecture was created during the Qing dynasty. During the Republic of China era it was known as Qian County In 1953 the area was renamed Jishou county, with two adjacent cities, Jishou and Qianzhou. In 1982 Jishou city became the capital of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. The city of Qianzhou now lies just south of Jishou city.
Geography
Jishou lies east of the Wuling Mountain range. About 80% of the city's terrain is low hills or low mountains. The highest elevation is 964.5 meters, at Liantaifeng and the lowest point is 142 meters, near the town of Hexi. The Dong River, a tributary of the Yuan River, runs west to east through the city.
Population
Jishou County had a population of 291,200 in the year 2008, including an agricultural population of 163,100, or 56% of the population. The urban population was 192,500. About 77.3% of the population belonged to the Miao or Tujia minorities, with 121,000 Miao and 101,200 Tujia. Members of China's predominant Han ethnic group comprise the rest of the population.
In 2001, the Gross Domestic Product in Jishou was 19.45 billion yuan, with a revenue of 1.45 billion yuan. Jishou produces fruits, especially kiwis and oranges, vegetables, livestock and poultry, and tobacco. Tourism is becoming an important industry, since the ancient city of Fenghuang, is about 30 minutes away and Dehang National Park is about 40 minutes away. According to preliminary estimation, the gross domestic product in 2018 was CN¥16,762 million, up by 10.1 percent over the previous year. Of this total, the value added of the primary industry was CN¥716 million, up by 3.5 percent, that of the secondary industry was CN¥4,841 million, up by 11.8 percent and that of the tertiary industry was CN¥11,206 million, up by 9.8 percent. The value added of the primary industry accounted for 4.27 percent of the GDP; that of the secondary industry accounted for 28.88 percent; and that of the tertiary industry accounted for 66.85 percent. The GDP per capita in 2018 was CN¥44,849, up by 5.9 percent compared with the previous year.
Transportation
Bus routes run from Jishou to numerous towns and cities within Xiangxi and farther afield.