A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by a more resistant layer or layers of harder rock, e.g. shales overlain by sandstones. The resistant layer acts as a caprock that forms the flat summit of a mesa. The caprock can consist of either sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and limestone; dissected lava flows; or a deeply eroded duricrust. Unlike plateau, whose usage does not imply horizontal layers of bedrock, e.g. Tibetan Plateau, the term mesa applies exclusively to the landforms built of flat-lying strata. Instead, flat-topped plateaus are specifically known as tablelands.
Pinggui District belongs to Hezhou City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region. It is located in the northeast of Guangxi and the middle of Hezhou City, with a total area of 2022 square kilometers. As of 2018, the total population is 415000, and there are mainly Han, Yao, Zhuang and other nationalities living in the territory. As of 2018, Pinggui District has jurisdiction over 1 street, 7 towns and 1 nationality township, and the district government is located at No. 1 Pinggui Avenue, Xiwan Street. In the 23rd year of the people's Republic of China (1934), the Guangxi Mining Bureau set up an office in Xiwan, acting Pingle and Guilin, hence the name "Pinggui" and has been in use all the time. In April 2007, the people's Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region formally approved the establishment of Hezhou Pinggui Management District, which is the dispatched office of Hezhou people's Government. On July 11, 2016, with the approval of the State Council, it was agreed to establish Pinggui District of Hezhou City.