Liupanshui is located in the west of Guizhou province. The name Liupanshui combines the first character from the names of each of the city's three constituent counties: Liuzhi, Panzhou and Shuicheng.
As a prefecture-level city with an area of 9,926 square kilometers, Liupanshui had a total population of over 3.49 million in 2018. The city is known locally as the "Cool City" or "Cool Capital" due to its low average summer temperature.