Yongqiao District 埇桥区

History

Xu Yi (徐夷) and Huai Yi (淮夷) tribes lived here more than 4,000 years ago. At the end of the Qin, Dazexiang (大泽乡) saw the Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uprising, the first large peasant revolt in Chinese history. In 809 the Tang placed the seat of Suzhou at Yongqiao town, governing Fuli (符离), Hong, Qi and Linhuan counties. In 1999 the county-level city of Suzhou was renamed Yongqiao District.

Fuli is where the Tang poet Bai Juyi (白居易) spent his youth and wrote his poem on the grass that wildfire cannot destroy. In Sishan village (四山村) at Fuli, the Yinguo Temple primary school (银果寺小学) housed the logistics department of the East China Field Army, and the army held its only logistics conference of the Huaihai Campaign there from 19 to 22 December 1948.

What to see

The Wuliu scenic area (五柳风景名胜区) is both a provincial scenic area and a provincial nature reserve: low hills and water with bamboo, springs, caves, temples and old tombs. Near the southern edge of Suzhou, Guanhu village (关湖村) in Yongzhen (永镇) is a 3A scenic area built around the zither master Yu Boya (俞伯牙) and the "understanding friend" (知音) story, with a Boya shrine, a Boya tomb and a folk museum.

Food and local traditions

Fuliji roast chicken (符离集烧鸡) was developed in the early 20th century by Han Jingyu (韩景玉) and named a famous Chinese dish in 1956; it is now a national geographical-indication product and on Anhui's intangible-heritage list. The bird is trussed with its legs folded into the body, brushed with a strong sugar-and-honey solution, fried golden, then simmered in master stock, first over a hard fire and then gently. Langan beef (栏杆牛肉), from Langan town (栏杆镇), is glossy red and tender without being greasy; the recipe passes orally within the Chen family, whose ancestor is said to have been an imperial cook given to the family of the Tang general Guo Ziyi.

Yongqiao circus (埇桥马戏), a circus and acrobatic art dating from the late Ming and early Qing, was placed on the national intangible-heritage list in 2008, and the district holds the title "home of Chinese circus" (中国马戏之乡).

Getting oriented

Xuzhou's Tongshan District (铜山区) lies to the north, Suixi County (濉溪县) to the west, Xiao County (萧县) to the northwest and Lingbi County (灵璧县) to the east, with Guzhen (固镇县) and Huaiyuan (怀远县) counties of Bengbu to the south. Suzhou station on the Beijing–Shanghai railway and Suzhou East station on the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway are both in the district.

Highlights

• Fuliji roast chicken 符离集烧鸡: Named a famous Chinese dish in 1956; geographical-indication product.
• Langan beef 栏杆牛肉: District intangible heritage; recipe handed down orally in the Chen family.
• Yongqiao circus 埇桥马戏: National intangible heritage since 2008.
• Wuliu scenic area 五柳风景名胜区: Provincial scenic area and nature reserve of low hills, springs and temples.
• Guanhu village 关湖村: 3A village themed on Yu Boya, with his shrine and tomb.
• East China Field Army logistics site 华东野战军后勤部机关旧址: Yinguo Temple school at Fuli, site of the 1948 logistics conference.