Located in northeastern Yunnan province, Ludian county is 49 km from Zhaotong city.
The area covering 1,487 square kilometers has an average altitude of 1,917 meters and is adjacent to Huize county to the south and Qiaojia county to the west.
Ludian county is mainly agricultural and of its population of 408,000 people, an estimated 389,000 are farmers.