Lichuan (Chinese: 利川市; pinyin: Lìchuān) is a county-level city of the Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, in southwestern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, located 52 kilometres (32 mi) west of Enshi City, the prefecture seat.

[3] Lichuan is believed to be the location of most (if not all) of the naturally growing Metasequoia glyptostroboides trees in existence.

The genus Metasequoia, related to the giant redwoods of North America, was first described as a fossil from the Mesozoic Era in 1941.

But in 1943 a small stand of an unidentified tree was discovered in Modaoxi (磨刀溪), presently known as Moudao (谋道) Town, in Lichuan County, by Zhan Wang.

Presently, a number of natural Metasequoia populations exist in the hills and wetlands of Lichuan.