Quanjiao County 全椒县

Setting and landscape

The county is typical Jianghuai hill country, summed up locally as "three parts mountain, five parts hill, two parts polder" (三山五丘二分圩). Its landmarks are the Shenshan (神山), Longshan (龙山) and Mulong (牧龙山) hills, the Chu (滁河) and Xiang (襄河) rivers, and Biyun (碧云湖), Daishan (岱山湖) and Wolong (卧龙湖) lakes.

History

Tradition holds that the Gaoyang clan founded a state of Jiao on Jiaoling Hill (椒陵山), now inside the town; in the Spring and Autumn period the place was Jiaoyi (椒邑) of Chu, later settled by the Quan (全) family, which gave the Han county its name. It joined Jiujiang Commandery in 122 BC. Besides Wu Jingzi, the county claims the Ming monk Hanshan (憨山), counted among the dynasty's four great monks.

What to see

The Wu Jingzi Memorial Hall (吴敬梓纪念馆), founded in 1959, rebuilt in 1984 and enlarged in 2019, is a Ming-Qing style compound with a bronze statue of the writer about 10 metres tall. It keeps editions of The Scholars and the Wenmu Shanfang Ji (文木山房集), and the Wu family genealogy. His former residence (吴敬梓故居), laid out like a Suzhou garden, has eight exhibition areas, including the Yanling Hall (延陵堂) ancestral shrine and the Cishu Tower (赐书楼).

Shenshan, 15 kilometres northwest of the county town, is a national forest park whose 295-metre main peak is ringed by nine other peaks. The Tang poet Wei Yingwu (韦应物) made it famous with a poem addressed to a Taoist in the Quanjiao hills (寄全椒山中道士). Its sights include karst caves and a Shenshan Temple (神山寺) more than 1,200 years old.

On the 16th day of the first lunar month, crowds "walk for peace" (走太平), a custom on Anhui's provincial intangible heritage list. The route crosses the Han-era Jiyu Bridge (积玉桥), follows Yuanjiawan Old Street (袁家湾老街), crosses the Song-era Honglan Bridge (红栏桥) and ends at Taiping Bridge (太平桥), each bridge higher than the last.

Food and local products

Machang suhu pai (马厂酥笏牌) is a flaky pastry shaped like the tablet officials held at court. It is mixed, kneaded, layered, cut, baked and finally cooked under a lid; the Wang family has passed the method down since the Qianlong reign. Guanba beef (管坝牛肉) is a halal dish from the Hui community of Guanba in the west of the county: beef from mature cattle is simmered in an aged master stock with clove, cassia, star anise and rock sugar, turned constantly, and eaten sliced, salty and savoury.

Highlights

• Wu Jingzi Memorial Hall 吴敬梓纪念馆: Founded 1959; holds editions of The Scholars and a 10-metre bronze statue of Wu Jingzi.
• Wu Jingzi's Former Residence 吴敬梓故居: Garden-style courtyard house with eight exhibition areas.
• Shenshan 神山: National forest park 15 km northwest of the county town, made famous by Wei Yingwu's poem.
• Walking for Peace 走太平: Bridge-crossing custom on the 16th of the first lunar month; provincial intangible heritage.
• Machang suhu pai 马厂酥笏牌: Flaky pastry shaped like a court tablet.
• Guanba beef 管坝牛肉: Hui halal beef braised in spiced master stock.