Donglan is situated in the mid-west of Hechi city, with Jinchengjiang district to the east. It covers a 2,437-square-kilometer area and is home to people from many ethnic groups including Zhuang, Han, Yao, Miao, Dong, Maonan, Mulam, and Bouyei. By the end of 2019, Donglan had a permanent resident population of 226,600.

The county is rich in folk culture, including the epic poems of the Zhuang minority and the copper drum customs that are popular among people from the Zhuang and Yao communities. The area is home to hundreds of antique copper drums - the largest collection in the world, and its copper drum art was listed in the first national intangible cultural heritage list in 2006.

Donglan has a mild, subtropical climate with cool summers and moderate winters, abundant precipitation, and plenty of sunshine. The Hongshui River, Guangxi's main river, runs through Donglan for 115 kilometers. The forest coverage rate is above 80 percent, more than three times the national average, cementing Donglan's reputation as China's greenest county and one of its 10 most beautiful rural areas. Thanks to its impressive natural environment, it is also a popular area for people looking to enjoy healthy leisure activities, with residents of the area known for their longevity.

The county boasts large deposits of minerals in its unique karst landscape, and it is also famous for products such as chestnuts, hemp, glutinous black rice, camellias, black chickens, black fragrant pigs, aniseeds, tung oil, and non-glutinous rice.