Dongzhi County 东至县

Setting and landscape

The lowest ground, about 9.5 metres above sea level, lies in the north around Qili Lake (七里湖). The Yangtze runs along the county's northwest edge for 85 kilometres and separates it from Huaining (怀宁) and Wangjiang (望江). The highest point is Xianyu Mountain (仙寓山) at 1,375.7 metres, and the south borders Fuliang (浮梁), Poyang (鄱阳) and Pengze (彭泽) counties in Jiangxi.

History

The name joins the first characters of two older counties merged on 15 May 1959, with Yaodu (尧渡镇) as the seat. Zhide (至德) was founded in 757 and named after the Tang reign era of that year. Dongliu (东流) was raised from a market post to a county in 953, its name taken from the Yangtze winding east past it. Local legend says the sage-king Shun (舜) farmed on Shungeng Mountain (舜耕山), also called Dali Shan (大历山), and that Yao (尧) crossed the river here to seek him out, hence the name Yaodu, "Yao's crossing". Far older is Hualong Cave (华龙洞), found in 1988, which yielded a fairly complete human skull in 2015; its human fossils are dated to roughly 330,000 to 270,000 years ago; the site is under national protection.

What to see

Shengjin Lake is named for a day's catch said to be worth a sheng (升) of gold. It entered the Directory of Asian Wetlands in 1988 and the list of internationally important wetlands in 2015. The county culture and tourism bureau says it holds China's largest wintering population of hooded cranes, about five per cent of the world total, and an eighth of the world's oriental storks. Dongliu Old Town (东流古镇) on the Yangtze is linked with the poet Tao Yuanming (陶渊明), who planted chrysanthemums there, and the Tao Gong Shrine (陶公祠) is a provincial protected site. The Nanxi Old Village (南溪古寨) is described as home to descendants of a Xiongnu (匈奴) tribe. The Dongzhi lantern dance (东至花灯舞) is on the national intangible heritage list.

Food and local products

Local products include kudzu starch, salted duck eggs and river shrimp from Shengjin Lake, flower mushrooms from Guangang (官港), Gegong tofu (葛公豆腐) and Zishita Maojian (紫石塔毛尖) green tea.

Getting oriented

Yaodu lies 247 kilometres south of Hefei (合肥) and 152 kilometres north of Jingdezhen (景德镇). The Tongling–Jiujiang railway (铜九铁路) and the Shanghai–Chongqing and Jinan–Guangzhou expressways cross the county, and there are river ports along the Yangtze at Xiangkou (香口), Dongliu and Dadukou (大渡口).

Highlights

• Shengjin Lake 升金湖: Wetland of international importance since 2015 and national nature reserve, winter home of hooded cranes and oriental storks.
• Hualong Cave Site 华龙洞遗址: Nationally protected site with human fossils dated to about 330,000–270,000 years ago.
• Dongliu Old Town 东流古镇: Yangtze town where Tao Yuanming grew chrysanthemums; named for the river flowing east.
• Xianyu Mountain 仙寓山: The county's highest peak at 1,375.7 m, with nearly a hundred waterfalls.