Nanling County 南陵县

Setting and landscape

The county describes its layout as four parts hills, one part water, four parts fields and one part roads and villages. Hewan town (何湾镇) in the west is typical low-hill karst country, high in the northwest and rolling in the southeast, with forest covering 54 percent of its area.

History

The county counts itself among the birthplaces of Chinese bronze culture, with smelting going back to the Western Zhou. A bronze zun with dragon-shaped handles and the sword of King Guang of Wu (吴王光剑) found here are graded first-class national relics. Three sites hold national protection: the Dagongshan ancient copper mine (大工山古铜矿遗址), the Guniushan walled town site (牯牛山古城池遗址) and the Qianfengshan group of southern Anhui earthen mound tombs (千峰山).

Emperor Wu of Han set up Chungu County (春谷), a name the county explains by grain ripening earlier here than elsewhere; Nanling County was created in 525 under Emperor Wu of Liang and moved to its present site in the Tang. Zhou Yu (周瑜), Huang Gai (黄盖) and Zhou Tai (周泰) all governed Chungu, and Kuihu (奎湖) served as a training ground for the Eastern Wu navy. More than 40 Tang and Song poets, among them Li Bai (李白), Du Mu (杜牧) and Yang Wanli (杨万里), lived in or wrote about Nanling. Li Bai lived at Zhaishan village (寨山村) and wrote his poem on leaving his children in Nanling for the capital.

What to see

The Yashan Flower Sea and Stone Forest (丫山花海石林), a provincial geopark, and Dapu Rural World (大浦乡村世界) are 4A scenic areas; Aili (霭里) and Banshiling (板石岭) are 3A. Kuihu is a provincial wetland park and Xiaogeli (小格里) a provincial forest park. Hewan town also lists Yanzi Cave (燕子洞), the Shuilongshan waterfall (水龙山瀑布), the Taiping old stockade (太平古寨), the Yuma Bridge (浴马桥) of more than 600 years and the Nanshan cliff carvings (南山摩崖石刻).

Food and local products

The county builds its farming on quality rice, edible fungi and medicinal herbs; Nanling shiitake and Nanling oyster mushrooms are listed as national specialty farm products. Hewan, known as a home of the peony, is the approved area of origin for Fengdan (凤丹), a geographical indication product. Provincial intangible heritage from Hewan includes the ten-beast lanterns (十兽灯) and the making of Yashan lotus-root sugar (丫山藕糖).

Getting oriented

The Hefei–Fuzhou high-speed railway stops at Nanling station in the county's south. The Shanghai–Chongqing and Wuhu–Huangshan expressways cross the county, and national roads 318 and 205 meet on the east side of the town.

Highlights

• Yashan Flower Sea and Stone Forest 丫山花海石林: 4A scenic area and provincial geopark in Hewan town.
• Dagongshan ancient copper mine 大工山古铜矿遗址: National protected site tied to smelting that goes back to the Western Zhou.
• Kuihu 奎湖: Provincial wetland park, once a training ground for the Eastern Wu navy.
• Fengdan 凤丹: Geographical indication product; Hewan is its approved area of origin.
• Yashan lotus-root sugar 丫山藕糖: Its making technique is provincial intangible heritage.