Yingxiu

The town has an area of 397.74 square kilometres (153.57 sq mi), and a population of 5,829 people as of 2021. The town's average elevation is approximately 900 metres (3,000 ft) above sea level.

It is at the epicentre and one of the worst hit areas of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. 80% of the town was destroyed and 5,462 people died. The collapsed Xuankou Middle School became one of the most memorable images of the disaster, and is now part of a memorial site.

Benevolence Square, a monument built by the Chinese government at the epicentre of the earthquake, contains a huge boulder lying below the surface and surrounded by a moat. A plaque, in Chinese and English, reads "Benevolence Square: It was arable land before the earthquake".

History

Yingxiu was established as a People's commune in 1958.

In 1980, Yingxiu was changed to a township.

In 1984, Yingxiu was changed to a town, which it remains today.

Following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, the Wenchuan County government built 479 resettlement homes for families displaced by the earthquake, which now constitute part of Xiuping Community.

On December 18, 2019, Yinxing Township was merged into Yingxiu.