| Bikou | |
| Native Name: | 碧口镇 |
| Native Name Lang: | zh |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Elevation M: | 624 |
| Area Total Km2: | 200 |
| Population Total: | 16901 |
| Population As Of: | 2008 |
| Pushpin Map: | Gansu#China |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | China |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Gansu |
| Subdivision Type2: | Prefecture-level City |
| Subdivision Name2: | Longnan |
| Subdivision Type3: | County |
| Subdivision Name3: | Wen |
| Coordinates: | 32.7489°N 105.2408°W |
Bikou Town (Chinese: 碧口镇) is a town under Wen County, in Longnan, Gansu. It is located along the Bailong River, just downstream of the Bikou Dam.[1] In 2008 it had a population of 16,901.[2]
Bikou has been mentioned in Southern Song dynasty poems and Han dynasty documents.[3] Since the Ming dynasty it has been an important trading town, most of its merchants originating from Sichuan. Therefore the town has its own dialect based on Sichuanese dialect[4] Its importance for trade originates from its location as the first navigable spot of the Yangtze basin, used for shipping Longnan's famous medicinal plants to eastern China, and along a main road between Gansu and Sichuan.[5] [6] Nowadays the town is home to industry and tea cultivation.[7]
Together with neighbouring Zhongmiao town, it was the hardest hit area in Gansu from the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Most of the buildings and infrastructure were destroyed.[8]
During the 1980s, a gold mine was opened near Bikou.[9]
Bikou is known for its Sichuan opera.[10]
The towns administration center is Bifeng Village (Chinese: 碧峰村).[11]
Other administrative villages:[12]
Bikou is mentioned in the opening paragraph of Li Jieren's 1936 novel Ripple on a Standing Pool (sishui weilan, 死水微澜):[13]