Dianjiang County 垫江县

Setting and landscape

The county covers 1,518 square kilometres at the eastern end of the Huaying Mountains (华蓥山脉). Ranges rise on its east and west sides with rolling hills between, and the ground falls gently from north to south, between 1,183 metres at its highest and 320 metres at its lowest. All its rivers lie in the Yangtze-system basin of the Longxi River (龙溪河), which the county government gives as 98.7 kilometres long.

Dianjiang borders Fengdu (丰都县) and Zhong County (忠县) to the east, Fuling (涪陵区) and Changshou (长寿区) to the south, Liangping (梁平区) to the north, and Sichuan to the west. Summers are hot and often dry; autumns bring long spells of rain.

History

The county was created in 556, under Emperor Gong of the Western Wei (西魏), from land taken out of Linjiang County (临江县). The county government says the name was first written Diejiang (褺江) and that the Book of Han (汉书) miswrote it as Dianjiang, the form still in use. It was renamed Wei'an (魏安县) in 567 and took back the Dianjiang name in 598.

In 619 Qingshui County (清水县), later renamed Guixi (桂溪县), was created from Linjiang land; it merged into Dianjiang in 1072. Merged into Fengdu in 1284, Dianjiang was restored in 1363 by Ming Yuzhen (明玉珍), the rebel leader who founded the Daxia (大夏) state in Chongqing. In 2008 it was named one of China's first 40 "Millennium Ancient Counties" (千年古县), the only one in Chongqing.

What to see

The county government calls Dianjiang the birthplace of the Shanshui peony (山水牡丹), grown here for more than two thousand years. According to a 2012 CCTV report, the peonies are planted mainly on Mingyue Mountain around Taiping town (太平镇), across about 20,000 mu (roughly 1,300 hectares), with the best displays at Bailing Mountain (百灵山), Kaizhifeng (恺之峰) and Yuzhi Island on Taiping Lake (太平湖玉指岛). More than 70 varieties grow there, among them Taiping Red (太平红), and full bloom usually falls in mid to late March. The county has three national 4A scenic areas.

Food and local products

Dianjiang holds the title of China's home of stone-ground tofu pudding (石磨豆花). The county government lists Zhao beef (赵牛肉), Chuanjiu steamed duck (川久蒸鸭), Dianjiang Chinese shallots (垫江藠头), Yong'an zajiu (永安咂酒) liquor, Dongyin tea (东印茶叶) and the orchid dendrobium (铁皮石斛) among its specialities, and ranks its medicinal peony-root bark (丹皮) the best in China. Municipal intangible-heritage items include the Xinmin spring-ox dance (新民春牛舞), Gaofeng paddy-weeding songs (高峰薅秧歌) and Dashi bamboo weaving (大石竹编).

Highlights

• Kaizhifeng Tourist Area 恺之峰旅游区: One of the three showcase peony areas on Mingyue Mountain named by CCTV.
• Taiping Lake Yuzhi Island 太平湖玉指岛: One of three showcase peony areas around Taiping town named by CCTV.
• Stone-ground tofu pudding 石磨豆花: Dianjiang is titled China's home of stone-ground tofu pudding.
• Xinmin spring-ox dance 新民春牛舞: A municipal intangible-heritage item from the county.