Shaoyang, known as Baoqing in ancient times, is a prefecture-level city in Hunan Province. It is located in the southwest of Hunan Province and upstream of Zijiang River. The Zijiang River flows through the whole territory from southwest to northeast. It borders Hengyang in the east, Yongzhou and Guilin in the south, Huaihua in the west, and Loudi in the north, between latitude 25°58 '~ 27°40' north and longitude 109°49' ~ 112°57' east. The total area is 20,824 square kilometers. Shaoyang Municipality has jurisdiction over 3 municipal districts, 7 counties (including 1 autonomous county) and 2 county-level cities. As of November 2020, according to the seventh national census data, Shaoyang City's permanent population is 6,563,520.

Shaoyang has a long history and is known as Xiaoxiang. The territory as early as in the Shang Dynasty, ancestors multiplied and lived, the Western Han Dynasty county, after Zhaoling, Shaoling, Shaoyang, Minzhou, Shaozhou, Baoqing, finally named Shaoyang. In the Qing Dynasty, Baoqing Fucheng Zijiang around Guo, Shao Shui through the city, around the city walls and fortresses, coupled with mountains and water complex, it is not easy to attack, leaving the "iron Baoqing" reputation.

In June 2020, the Rule of Law Commission of the CPC Central Committee selected it into the list of the first batch of national demonstration areas and projects for building a law-based government; On October 20, it was selected into the national model city (county) list of double support. On January 29, 2021, it was selected into the list of regions with remarkable achievements in 2020 published by Hunan Provincial People's Government.

In 2021, Shaoyang achieved a gross regional product of 246.153 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 8.5%.