Shaoyang, formerly named Baoqing (Paoking), is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Hunan province, China, bordering Guangxi to the south. It has a history of 2500 years and remains an important commercial and transportation city in Hunan. As of the 2020 Chinese census, its total population was 6,563,520 inhabitants, of whom 1,415,173 lived in the built-up area made of three urban districts and Xinshao County largely conurbated.