Guigang 贵港市

Setting and landscape

The Yu (郁江) and Qian (黔江) rivers cross the prefecture and meet inside it to form the Xun (浔江). Much of the land lies on the Xunyu Plain (浔郁平原), which the city government calls Guangxi's largest plain, and the Tropic of Cancer runs through the middle. On the lower Qian, about 8 kilometres from Guiping (桂平), the river passes through Datengxia (大藤峡), a gorge about 45 kilometres long named after a legendary giant rattan that once spanned the water.

History

In 214 BC the Qin seated Guilin Commandery (桂林郡) at Bushan (布山), placed in today's urban area, though some put it near Mengxu (蒙圩) in Guiping; under the Han most of the area belonged to Yulin Commandery (郁林郡), still run from Bushan. The name Gui County (贵县) dates from 1369. Taiping leaders Yang Xiuqing (杨秀清), Wei Changhui (韦昌辉) and Shi Dakai (石达开) came from Guigang. Gui County became the county-level city of Guigang in 1988, and the State Council made it a prefecture-level city in 1995.

What to see

The Jintian Uprising site (太平天国金田起义地址) in Jintian village, Guiping, was among the first national key cultural relics protection units in 1961; it includes the old camp, the drill ground and the Baiqi stone (拜旗石), with a museum on nearby Xiniu Ridge (犀牛岭). Xishan (西山), a Buddhist mountain 500 metres west of Guiping town on the Tropic of Cancer, is a national scenic area and geopark with a history reaching back to the Liang dynasty. Datengxia was the scene of Ming-dynasty Yao uprisings that went on for more than 200 years from 1375, and the rebels' fort and wells survive on Jiucenglou Mountain (九层楼山). Beidi Mountain (北帝山) rises to about 1,300 metres on the southern slopes of the Dayao Mountains (大瑶山) in Pingnan (平南).

Food and local products

Qintang lotus root (覃塘莲藕), grown for more than a thousand years, is a national geographical-indication product, and the Hemei Qintang (荷美覃塘) scenic area is built around its lotus fields. Chinese Wikipedia lists Luoxiu rice noodles (罗秀米粉), Shepo tofu skin (社坡腐竹), Madong lychees (麻垌荔枝) and Guiping Xishan tea (桂平西山茶) among the local specialities.

Getting oriented

The city government sits on Hecheng Road in Gangbei District (港北区). The Nanning–Guangzhou high-speed railway and the Litang–Zhanjiang railway cross the prefecture; passenger stations include Guigang, Guiping and Pingnan South.

Highlights

• Jintian Uprising site 太平天国金田起义地址: Jintian village, Guiping; among the first national key cultural relics protection units (1961).
• Xishan, Guiping 桂平西山: Buddhist mountain 500 m west of Guiping town on the Tropic of Cancer; national scenic area and national geopark.
• Datengxia 大藤峡: Gorge of about 45 km on the lower Qian River near Guiping, scene of long-running Ming Yao uprisings.
• Beidi Mountain 北帝山: Peak of about 1,300 m on the southern slopes of the Dayao Mountains in Dapeng, Pingnan County.
• Qintang lotus root 覃塘莲藕: Grown for more than a thousand years; a national geographical-indication product.