Xihe County 西和县

Setting and landscape

The county averages 1,692 metres above sea level, with a mean annual temperature of 8.4°C, about 533 mm of rain and a frost-free season of 183 days. The county government describes it as one of the most suitable areas in Gansu for growing potatoes, and it counts 358 kinds of medicinal herbs.

History

Neolithic sites of the Yangshao, Majiayao and Qijia cultures line the Xihan and Yangshui (漾水河) valleys; the Ningjiazhuang site (宁家庄遗址) at Changdao (长道镇) is more than 7,000 years old. The county government calls the northern valleys a cradle of the Qin, and says Zhuge Liang's (诸葛亮) northern campaigns crossed the county twice.

In the Wei and Jin period the Yang clan of the Di-Qiang peoples founded the Chouchi state here, which lasted more than 400 years; its capital lay within today's county, and Chouchi Mountain (仇池山) stands at Daqiao (大桥). Local tradition, citing the history Lushi (路史), makes Chouchi the birthplace of Fuxi (伏羲), and scholar Zhao Kuifu (赵逵夫) of Northwest Normal University identifies the mountain with the "Changyang Mountain" (常羊之山) of the Classic of Mountains and Seas. The county has five provincial-level protected heritage sites.

What to see

Wanxia Lake (晚霞湖) is a national 4A tourist area, with reed beds, a lotus pond and a zigzag covered bridge (九曲廊桥), a 4 km walking path and a 6.6 km road around the lake; visitors also come to watch Qiqiao performances there. Other scenic areas named by the county are Yunhua Mountain (云华山), Bafeng Cliff (八峰崖) and Chouchi Mountain.

Longnan Qiqiao is a women's festival of worship, songs, music, dance and crafts, kept up in nearly 20 townships and more than 300 villages along the Xihan River. The county government calls it a "living fossil" of the ancient Qiqiao custom and "China's Daughters' Festival", and in 2007 the China Folk Literature and Art Association named Xihe a home of Qiqiao culture.

Food and local products

Xihe pinellia (西和半夏), a medicinal herb, is a national geographical-indication product, and the county calls itself the "home of pinellia". Xihe hand-made paper (西和麻纸) is made from paper-mulberry bark through 72 steps, including steaming, washing, milling, pounding, pulping, scooping and drying; the craft entered the fifth national intangible heritage list in 2021 and is still practised in Liuhe village (刘河村) in Xigaoshan (西高山镇).

Highlights

• Wanxia Lake 晚霞湖: National 4A tourist area with reed beds, lotus and a zigzag covered bridge.
• Chouchi Mountain 仇池山: Mountain at Daqiao linked to the Chouchi state, which the Yang clan of the Di-Qiang founded.
• Qiqiao festival 乞巧: Women's festival kept up in more than 300 villages along the Xihan River.
• Xihe hand-made paper 西和麻纸: Paper-mulberry paper made in 72 steps; national intangible heritage since 2021.
• Xihe pinellia 西和半夏: National geographical-indication medicinal product.