Yongfu County 永福县

Setting and landscape

The county government describes a torch-shaped county, narrow from east to west and long from north to south. Mountains above 1,100 metres rise in the west, north-west and south-east; the south-west is a belt of peak forest at 300 to 500 metres, and the north-east opens into alluvial plain below 200 metres. Of the 78 rivers with catchments over 10 square kilometres, the three largest are the Luoqing (洛清江), the West River (西河) and the Zhongdu (中渡河). All but one drain into the Luoqing, which reaches the Liu River (柳江) by way of Luzhai County (鹿寨县).

What to see

Fengshan (凤山), a hill in the centre of the county town that rises to 286 metres above sea level, was once called Huagai (华盖山, "canopy") after the shape of its trees. The county gazetteer tells of phoenixes nesting there in the Sui dynasty and again in the Song, after which it was renamed Fengchao ("phoenix nest") Hill, shortened to Fengshan. On the hill are the Chengxin Temple (澄心寺), rock inscriptions such as "Yuchi" (玉池, jade pool), and a pine the county government puts at 700 years old. It became a national 3A scenic area in January 2018.

At Baishou town (百寿镇), the Baishou Rock inscriptions (百寿岩石刻) span the Song to Qing dynasties; Guangxi listed them in 1981, and in 2013 they joined the seventh batch of nationally protected heritage sites. In the south of the township, a 3.3-kilometre stretch of the Baishou River at Jiangxi hamlet (江西屯) is known for the protected water plant Ottelia (海菜花), whose small white flowers with yellow centres can be seen all year because the stretch lies in a warm area.

Food and local products

Yongfu, Rong'an County (融安县) and Lingui District (临桂区) are the three main growing areas of monk fruit (罗汉果), and Yongfu is its place of origin. Yongfu monk fruit (永福罗汉果) is a national geographical-indication product.

Highlights

• Fengshan 凤山: Hill in the county town rising to 286 metres, with Chengxin Temple and old rock inscriptions; 3A scenic area since 2018.
• Baishou Rock inscriptions 百寿岩石刻: Song-to-Qing inscriptions, a nationally protected heritage site since 2013.
• Ottelia river stretch 百寿镇海菜花风景河段: 3.3-kilometre stretch of the Baishou River where the protected water plant flowers year-round.
• Yongfu monk fruit 永福罗汉果: National geographical-indication product; Yongfu is the fruit's place of origin.