Ruyuan Yao Autonomous County, subordinate to Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province, is located in the north of Guangdong Province and the west of Shaoguan City, adjacent to Wujiang District, Shaoguan City in the east, Yangshan County, Qingyuan City in the west, Yingde City, Qingyuan City in the south, Lechang City in the north, and Yizhang County, Hunan Province in the northwest. It is one of the three minority autonomous counties in Guangdong Province. It is a pilot project of fiscal reform in counties directly under the jurisdiction of Guangdong Province.

Ruyuan County was established in the third year of Qiandao in the Southern Song Dynasty (1167). It was named after the abundant stalactites in the North Fenggangling karst cave of the county and the outflow of water from the cave. In October 1963, the State Council approved the establishment of Ruyuan Yao Autonomous County. The total area of the county is 2299 square kilometers, which governs 9 towns, 115 village (residential) committees and 1071 natural villages. Ruyuan is one of the ancestral residences of the mountain Yao people in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries, as well as the United States, France and other European and American countries. It is known as the "hometown of the mountain Yao people in the world". According to the data of the seventh population census, as of 0:00 on November 1, 2020, the permanent population of Ruyuan Yao Autonomous County was 187276.

In 2020, the regional GDP of Ruyuan Yao Autonomous County will reach 9.50 billion yuan, up 2.3% year on year. Among them, the added value of the primary industry was 870 million yuan, up 4.6% year on year; The added value of the secondary industry was 4.4 billion yuan, up 5.4% year on year; The added value of the tertiary industry was 4.24 billion yuan, down 0.8% year on year.