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.
Xixiu District, which belongs to Anshun City, is located in the hinterland of Zhongxiang Department of Guizhou Province, 90 kilometers west of Guiyang City, the seat of Anshun Municipal Government, and the political, economic, scientific, technological and cultural center of Anshun City. Known as "the belly of Guizhou, the throat of Yunnan, the lips and teeth of Guangdong and Shu" and "strangled Yunnan and Guizhou", it has always been regarded as the "dry wharf" and "the prosperity of commerce in the whole province". It has jurisdiction over 7 townships, 8 towns and 6 streets, with a total area of 1704.5 square kilometers and a total population of 625600 (2013). Xixiu District is an excellent selection of karst scenery tourism in the world and the tourism center of the western route of Guizhou. In 1985, it was approved by the State Council as an open city for Class A tourism in China. It is known as "the pearl on the tourism line", "the hometown of batik", "the hometown of local opera" and "the hometown of Tunpu culture". September 25, 2018