Xinhua County belongs to Loudi City of Hunan Province. Located in central Hunan, the middle reaches of the Zijiang River, the southeast foot of the north section of Xuefeng Mountain (ancient Meishan). Located at 27°31 '~ 28°14' north latitude, 110°45 '~ 111°41' east longitude, the area under the jurisdiction of 3642 square kilometers, jurisdiction over 3 subdistricts, 18 towns, 7 townships, 2 state-owned forest farms, 1 economic development zone. The territory is mostly hills basin, belongs to the subtropical monsoon humid climate, pleasant environment, known as "Hunan treasure land" said. Xinhua is a key forest county, mineral resources are coal, silicon, tungsten, arsenic, graphite, tin, lead, zinc, copper, antimony, magnesium, gold, kaolin and limestone. According to the seventh census, as of midnight on November 1, 2020, the permanent population of Xinhua County was 1,196,538. Xinhua, known as Meishan in ancient times, is the core area of Meishan culture, the hometown of Chinese Meishan culture and art, the hometown of Chiyou Hometown culture, the hometown of national martial arts, the hometown of Chinese folk song art, and the hometown of Chinese poetry. Famous natural and cultural attractions include Ziquejie Terrace, Meishan Dragon Palace, Big Bear Mountain Forest Park, Youxi River Rafting, North Tower, Wenchang Pavilion and so on.

In September 2015, the Implementation Plan of the Hunan Provincial Department of Land and Resources to Promote the Reform of the economic System directly administered by the Province was issued. According to the Plan, Xinhua County became the pilot county (city) of Hunan Land and Resources Province directly administered county economic system reform. On October 22, 2018, it was selected into the list of leading areas for the integrated development of primary, secondary and tertiary industries in the country in 2018. On February 29, 2020, the People's Government of Hunan Province agreed to remove Xinhua County from the poverty-stricken county. 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 2020, the GDP of Xinhua County was 28694.61 million yuan, up by 4.0% year on year.