Get to know Tongnan District
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- Administrative area
- District · 市辖区
- Part of
- Chongqing
- Chinese name
- 潼南区
- Local areas
- District guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 1,585.00 km²
- Population · 2010
- 640,000
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
History
The first county created within today's district was Jinxing (晋兴县), split from Deyang County in the reign of Emperor Xiaowu of the Eastern Jin (373–396), with its seat at Qingshiba (青石坝) in today's Yuxi. The modern county was proposed in 1909 and created in 1912 from parts of Pengxi and Suining (遂宁) under the name Dong'an (东安). In 1914 the Beijing interior ministry ordered a new name because Dong'an repeated county names in other provinces; since the seat lay south of Tongchuan prefecture (潼川府), the county became Tongnan, "south of Tong". It became a district of Chongqing in June 2015.
What to see
The Tongnan Dafo Temple (潼南大佛寺) cliff carvings, also called the Qianfo Temple (千佛寺) carvings, are a national key protected site. The temple site includes a gilded Buddha carved into the rock face and an old stone carving of the character "fo" (佛, Buddha); the district government bills the figure as the world's number one indoor gilded Buddha. The Yang Angong Martyr Cemetery (杨闇公烈士陵园) is listed as a national key protected martyrs' memorial, and the Malong Mountain (马龙山) cliff carvings, with a reclining Buddha, are protected by Chongqing.
The district government also names Shuangjiang Old Town (双江古镇), one of the first ten Chinese historic and cultural towns, and the Chen Tuan hometown scenic area at Chongkan (崇龛陈抟故里景区), promoted as "China's most beautiful sea of flowers". Shuangjiang is the home town of Yang Shangkun (杨尚昆).
Food and local products
Tongnan liangfen (潼南凉粉), a cold starch jelly made from sweet potato, peas and the like, is among the district's noted snacks. Chinese Wikipedia names vendors by family: Gong's liangfen was carried on a shoulder pole along the old street of Zitong Town (梓潼镇), and Yuan's moved from Shuangjiang to a stall at the county gymnasium.
Highlights
- Tongnan Dafo Temple cliff carvings 潼南大佛寺摩崖造像: A national key protected site with a gilded Buddha carved into the cliff.
- Shuangjiang Old Town 双江古镇: One of the first ten Chinese historic and cultural towns; home town of Yang Shangkun.
- Chongkan Chen Tuan hometown scenic area 崇龛陈抟故里景区: Promoted by the district government as China's most beautiful sea of flowers.
- Tongnan liangfen 潼南凉粉: A cold starch jelly made from sweet potato, peas and the like.
Sources for this guide
潼南自然地理概况 - 重庆市潼南区人民政府 · Tongnan District People's Government, Chongqing
历史沿革 - 重庆市潼南区人民政府 · Tongnan District People's Government, Chongqing
潼南区 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Wikipedia (Chinese) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-25.
Explore Tongnan District
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Tongnan District
Tongnan Giant Buddha Temple · Yuhuang Hall (潼南大佛寺·玉皇殿), Tongnan. Photograph: "Tongnan Dafo Temple 06".Tongnan Giant Buddha Temple · Yuhuang Hall潼南大佛寺·玉皇殿
Yuhuang Hall is one of the historic timber buildings within Tongnan's Giant Buddha Temple, at the foot of Dingming Hill beside the Fu River. It stands next to Guanyin Hall on a higher platform, with a hip-and-gable roof and a…
Read the place guide →
The multi-tiered Grand Buddha Pavilion of Tongnan Grand Buddha Temple, Tongnan District, Chongqing · 重庆潼南区潼南大佛寺大佛阁 Source-recorded photograph date: 2023-09-30 12:16:14.Tongnan Great Buddha Temple潼南大佛寺
Temple below Dingming Mountain in Tongnan, Chongqing, with an 18.43 m golden Buddha and cliff carvings listed nationally in 2006.
Read the place guide →
Chongkan Rapeseed Flower Fields · 崇龛油菜花海Chongkan Rapeseed Flower Fields崇龛油菜花海
Chongkan You Cai Hua Hai is the rapeseed-flower scenic area around Chongkan town in Tongnan District, Chongqing, branded 'Chen Tuan's Hometown' after the Song-dynasty scholar local legend says was born there. Built up from farmers' winter rapeseed crop since the mid-2000s, it is now a national AAAA-grade tourist attraction.
Read the place guide →Local life & food
Tongnan District local specialties
潼南区特色美食 · 6 specialties to discover
Tongnan Taian fish 潼南太安鱼AI illustration · AI 示意图
Tender fish contrasts with a coating sauce and any fried or firmer surfaces, producing a richer bite than clear fish soup.
Source ↗Read the dish guide →
Tongnan Cold Starch Jelly 潼南凉粉AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Tongnan Cold Starch Jelly (潼南凉粉) is the cold jelly of Tongnan District (潼南区), Chongqing, made from sweet potato and peas and dressed to be numbing and hot.
Read the dish guide →Chen's Cold Starch Jelly 陈凉粉AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Chen's Cold Starch Jelly (陈凉粉) is listed among the local specialties of Tongnan District, Chongqing. The term 凉粉 points to set-starch jelly.
Read the dish guide →Shuangjiang Chen's Cold Starch Jelly 双江陈凉粉AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Shuangjiang Chen's Cold Starch Jelly (双江陈凉粉) is the cold starch jelly sold as 'Chen's Liangfen' (陈凉粉) in Shuangjiang Old Town (双江古镇) in Tongnan District (潼南区), Chongqing.
Read the dish guide →
Tongnan Rapeseed Blossom Banquet 潼南菜花宴AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Tongnan Rapeseed Blossom Banquet (潼南菜花宴) is listed among the local specialties of Tongnan District, Chongqing. It is grouped here with regional dishes & banquets; retain the complete Chinese name when comparing local menus.
Read the dish guide →
Tongnan Radish Rolls 潼南萝卜卷AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Tongnan Radish Rolls (潼南萝卜卷) is listed among the local specialties of Tongnan District, Chongqing. It is grouped here with regional dishes & banquets; retain the complete Chinese name when comparing local menus.
Read the dish guide →More dishes from across Chongqing are in the Chongqing food guide.
Plan your visit
Getting there
Tongnan District is about 100 km in a straight line from central Chongqing. Search for 潼南区 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Tongnan Giant Buddha Temple · Yuhuang Hall and Tongnan Great Buddha Temple are both listed here. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Chongqing →More in Chongqing
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Some facts checked against 潼南区 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Tongnan Giant Buddha Temple · Yuhuang Hall · STW932 · CC0. Full frame retained; EXIF orientation normalized, proportionally resized to at most 800 pixels and converted to WebP. No generated pixels or subject changes. Cards may crop the display.
Photo: Tongnan Great Buddha Temple · STW932 · CC0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Chongkan Rapeseed Flower Fields · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark approximate centres, not entrances or boundaries.