Zongyang County 枞阳县

Setting and landscape

The county sits in the Lujiang–Zongyang volcanic basin (庐枞火山岩盆地). The Yangtze loops around it from southwest to northeast, with Baidang (白荡湖), Chenyao (陈瑶湖) and other lakes strung along the inner bank; to the west, Baitu Lake (白兔湖) and Caizi Lake (菜子湖) are shared with Tongcheng (桐城), and across the river to the south lies Guichi (贵池区). Sangong Mountain (三公山), a spur of the Dabie range shared by Zongyang, Lujiang and Wuwei, rises to 674.9 metres at Longwangjian (龙王尖), the highest point in Tongling; its slopes carry a large bamboo forest and tea gardens that grow Sangongshan cloud-mist tea.

History

The area was the Zongzi state (宗子国) in the Western Zhou, and Emperor Wu of Han created Zongyang County in 106 BC under Lujiang commandery (庐江郡). The Tang renamed it Tongcheng County (桐城县) in 757; in 1949 the eastern and southern townships of Tongcheng became Tonglu County (桐庐县), renamed Hudong (湖东县) in 1951 and given back the name Zongyang on 1 July 1955; in 2015 it moved from Anqing (安庆) to Tongling. Fang Bao (方苞), Liu Dakui (刘大櫆) and Yao Nai (姚鼐), the three founders of the Tongcheng school of prose (桐城派), and the scholar Fang Yizhi (方以智) are counted among its people.

What to see

Fushan (浮山), or Fudu Mountain, rises only 165 metres beside Baidang Lake but is a 4A scenic area, national forest park and national geopark. It is an old volcano that erupted twice more than 100 million years ago, leaving craters and caves. More than 480 cliff inscriptions, from the Tang and Song to the Republic, form a national key protected site; one records how the Song monk Yuanlu (远禄) explained Buddhism to Ouyang Xiu (欧阳修) through the game of Go. Other named sights include Han Wudi's Shejiao Terrace (射蛟台) and Tao Kan's Inkstone Pool (洗墨池).

Food and local products

Shanfen yuanzi with pork (山粉圆子烧肉) uses sweet-potato starch cooked and rolled into balls, then braised with sliced pork belly so the balls soak up the fat; the result is dark and chewy. Zongyang sanwen soup (枞阳三炆汤), a winter tonic, is a local duck, a hen and a black-pig stomach slow-cooked in a clay pot over charcoal for about six hours. Tanggou tea-dried tofu (汤沟茶干), made in Tanggou (汤沟镇) since the Qianlong reign, is reddish-brown and firm enough to fold without breaking.

Highlights

• Fushan 浮山: Old volcano by Baidang Lake with more than 480 cliff inscriptions.
• Sangong Mountain 三公山: Highest point in Tongling (674.9 m), with bamboo forest and tea gardens.
• Shanfen yuanzi with pork 山粉圆子烧肉: Sweet-potato starch balls braised with pork belly.
• Tanggou tea-dried tofu 汤沟茶干: Firm reddish-brown dried tofu made since the Qianlong reign.