Economy

Shiyan is one of the most important centers of automobile industry in China, with Dongfeng, the premier Chinese truck, bus, and heavy goods vehicle as a major employer. It is also labeled as the 'Detroit' of China, given this focus on automobile manufacture.Before 1949, it was a small village, which grew after the founding of the China. In 1967, teams of workers and engineers were first sent to Shiyan in order to survey sites for automotive plants and factories. At this time, the population of Shiyan was only a few hundred. Chairman Mao chose Shiyan as the site for China's automobile industry because the surrounding mountains and relative inaccessibility could act as a barrier against foreign attacks.

Geography

The Wudang Mountains run approximately east–west through the territory of the "Prefecture-level city" of Shiyan, crossing several of its county-level divisions. The peak commonly referred to as "Wudang Mountain", or in Mandarin Wudangshan, is one of the most important cultural centres of the Taoist faith. The surrounding areas are dotted with up to 200 Taoist monastic temples and religious sites. The main attraction in this area, and also one of the most sacred Taoist sites, which forms an important stop for mainly Chinese tourists bound there, with up to twenty bus loads of visitors per day at peak times is Wudangshan Jiedao of the Danjiangkou county-level city.