the villages, and the workers often return to have their children, but they then generally return to the factories. The overall result is that many villages in Badong are shrinking and some terraced farmland in this largely mountaintainous region is being abandoned and allowed to return to its original state. Transportation Due to the difficult terrain and the road conditions, the most convenient way to reach Badong's county seat is with a Yangtze riverboat. Both regular boats and hydrofoils call in the busy Badong harbor on the way up and down between Yichang and Chongqing. The county has one Yangtze crossing, the Badong Bridge, carrying China National Highway 209. The highway crosses the northern half of the county from the northeast to the southwest. As of 2009, Highway 209 was little more than a dirt road for a 20-km stretch north of the bridge. China National Highway 318 crosses the southern part of the county from the east to the west. The new G50 Shanghai–Chongqing Expressway and Yichang-Wanzhou Railway have been recently completed along the same corridor as well. The Siduhe Bridge on the new highway, located near Yesanguan town, is one of the longest bridges of its kinds; the nearby Zhijinghe Bridge is one of the world's tallest arch bridges. The Yesanguan railway station, located near Yesanguan Town in the south-central part of the county, is the only railway station within the county. It renamed from Badong railway station to Yesanguan railway station in 2022. A high-speed rail station, Badong North railway station (now renamed Badong railway station), will open on the Zhengzhou–Wanzhou high-speed railway. A number of provincial highways run north to south through the county. See also Deng Yujiao incident; occurred in Badong in 2009 Gallery References External links Official website of Badong County Government Counties of Hubei Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture