Yixiu District 宜秀区

Setting and landscape

Two protected landscapes lie within the district: Dalongshan National Forest Park (大龙山国家森林公园) and Caizi Lake National Wetland Park (菜子湖国家湿地公园). Two of its scenic areas carry the national 4A grade. Anqing Tianzhushan Airport (安庆天柱山机场) and Anqing high-speed railway station are both inside Yixiu, as is the point where the Jianghuai Canal (江淮大运河) meets the Yangtze.

What to see

The Former Residence of the Two Dengs (两邓故居) is the family home of the Qing calligrapher and seal carver Deng Shiru (邓石如) and of Deng Jiaxian (邓稼先), a leading figure of China's atomic and hydrogen bomb programmes, in Wuheng (五横乡). Known as the Iron Inkstone Studio (铁砚山房) after an iron inkstone given by Bi Qiufan (毕秋帆), it is a two-storey Huizhou-style brick-and-timber house holding calligraphy and couplets by Li Zhaoluo (李兆洛), Zeng Guofan (曾国藩) and He Shaoji (何绍基). It has been a provincial protected site since July 1986. Deng Shiru's own seal read "my home is between dragon mountain and phoenix water" (家在龙山凤水).

Lingshan Stone Tree (灵山石树), a 3A area in Yangqiao (杨桥镇) beside Shitang Lake (石塘湖), is a hill of stacked boulders that together look like one huge tree. Nearly a hundred linked cave chambers lead about 1,500 metres up to the summit, and an 800-year-old Buddhist pine (罗汉松) grows next to a 400-year-old osmanthus. Jushi Mountain (巨石山), a 4A area on the shore of Caizi Lake in Luoling (罗岭镇), is known for its rock formations, caves and wild white magnolias; from its top, Longtou Peak (龙头峰), the lake spreads out below. The district also names it as the birthplace of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl legend. Baochong Lake (鲍冲湖), also in Yangqiao, is a 3A lake area with many islands and wooded shores.

Yuanpu Temple (源浦寺) in Wuheng dates from the Tianqi (天启) reign of the late Ming, around 1622–1625, although the 1915 Huaining (怀宁) county gazetteer records it as a Song building. Its old halls were destroyed in the 1950s, and Wuheng village paid for their rebuilding in 1992.

People and traditions

Luoling is the home of Huangmei opera (黄梅戏) star Yan Fengying (严凤英), born there in 1930 when it belonged to Tongcheng (桐城). Her roles as the Seventh Fairy in The Heavenly Match (天仙配) and Feng Suzhen in The Female Prince Consort (女驸马) became her signature parts, and both operas were filmed. Luoling keeps an amateur troupe named after her, the Fengying Opera Club (凤英剧社), while Wuheng is known for its farmers' painting and calligraphy.

Highlights

• Former Residence of the Two Dengs 两邓故居: Iron Inkstone Studio of Deng Shiru and Deng Jiaxian, a provincial protected site since 1986.
• Lingshan Stone Tree 灵山石树: Boulders stacked in the shape of a tree, with linked caves climbing to the summit.
• Jushi Mountain 巨石山: 4A area on Caizi Lake known for rock formations and wild white magnolias.
• Dalongshan National Forest Park 大龙山国家森林公园: Rolling hills protected as a national forest park.