Jinshi, market town, northern Hunan sheng (province), China. Administratively a county-level city under the city of Changde, it was established through separation from Lixian county, first in 1950, and again in 1979. It stands on the north bank of the Li River some distance above its discharge into the Dongting Lake system, at the head of navigation for medium-sized ships.
While Lixian, some miles to the west, has become the chief administrative centre of the Li River basin, Jinshi has developed as its commercial counterpart. An unwalled economic centre with a large settlement of people from Shanxi province engaged in its trade, it is the principal collecting centre for grain and cotton from the surrounding plain and for hemp, timber, tung oil, and tea from the upper Li River valley. Its main industries are food processing and the manufacture of textiles and chemicals. Jinshi is also a major producer in Hunan of salt, monosodium glutamate, mosquito-repellent incense, and silk and flax fabric. Jinshi is also a communications hub between the Hunan and Hubei borders. A trunk highway connects the city to Changsha (the provincial capital), Wuhan (capital of Hubei), and surrounding cities. Jinshi is also one of the major inland ports of the province. Pop. (2000) 127,389.