Badong County () is a county located in western Hubei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Chongqing municipality to the west. It is the northernmost county-level division under the administration of Enshi Prefecture. The Yangtze River flows through the county and the county seat is located just east of the Wu Gorge in the Three Gorges region. Badong County is famous for the Shennong Stream () gorges located near Badong town. The stream itself falls into the Yangtze opposite the Badong center city. The Badong county seat, commonly referred to simply as "Badong", is in the town of Xinling (), located on the high southern banks of the Yangtze River channel. The Yangtze valley was flooded during the first decade of the 21st century after the construction of the Three Gorges Dam to the east, but Badong county seat was mostly above the flood line, and so more of the original town survives than is the case in many other river towns along this section of the Yangtze. Administrative divisions Badong County is divided into 10 towns and 2 townships. Ten towns: Xinling () Dongrangkou () Yanduhe () Guandukou () Chadianzi () Lücongpo () Dazhiping () Yesanguan () Qingtaiping () Shuibuya () Two townships: Xiqiuwan () Jinguoping () The main urban area of the county (i.e., the place typically labeled "Badong" on less-detailed maps) consists of Xinling Town—the seat of the county government—on the right (southern) bank of the Yangtze, and the smaller Dongrangkou and Guandukou towns on the opposite side of the river. They two sides of the Yangtze are connected by the Badong Bridge. Climate Economy Coal mining in small pits is the main commercial activity in the region, along with farming. There is also a large cement factory on the river to the east of the town, which is a significant polluter. The rural population of Badong County, as with many other parts of inland China, has seen major changes in the past two decades. The Chinese government's population control policies in the 1980s and beyond resulted in a sharp drop in births, and also in a change in attitudes, making many couples uninterested in having more than one child. The new freedom to travel and work in other parts of China has also led to a major exodus of workers to the coastal areas of China to find work. The older people tend to stay in