Hechi 河池市

Setting and landscape

Karst covers about 65 per cent of the prefecture, which the city government says is the largest exposed karst area of any Guangxi city. The land falls from north-west to south-east, with the Jiuwan Mountains (九万大山) in the north and the Duyang (都阳山) and Qinglong (青龙山) ranges in the west and south-west; the highest point, an unnamed peak in Huanjiang (环江), reaches 1,693 metres. The Hongshui, the upper course of the Xi River, runs diagonally across from north-west to south-east and is named "red water" for the reddish-brown colour it takes from red conglomerate beds.

History

Dingzhou County (定周县), set up in 111 BC, was the area's first county. The Tang founded Yizhou (宜州) and Huanzhou (环州), and in 1265 the Song raised Yizhou to Qingyuan Prefecture (庆远府), a name kept under the Ming and Qing. Donglan (东兰) was the birthplace of the Guangxi peasant movement and a cradle of the Baise Uprising. Hechi became a prefecture-level city in 2002.

What to see

Mulun National Nature Reserve (木论国家级自然保护区) in north-western Huanjiang adjoins Guizhou's Maolan reserve; the Huanjiang karst centred on it joined the South China Karst World Natural Heritage site in 2014, and an old trade road paved with bluestone slabs runs through its forest to Liming Pass (黎明关). Qibainong National Geopark (七百弄国家地质公园) in Dahua (大化) is built around high peak clusters and deep depressions, with a 16-kilometre gorge lake walled by cliffs 500 to 600 metres high. In the Small Three Gorges (小三峡) at Liujia (六甲), Jinchengjiang (金城江), a cliffside walkway runs above the water. Donglan, Bama (巴马) and Fengshan (凤山) are known together as a "longevity golden triangle".

Food and local products

The city government's food map recommends Bama miniature pig (巴马香猪), roasted over charcoal until golden and crisp and eaten with a sour sauce, and hemp-seed soup (火麻汤), a milky broth of ground hemp seeds served with yellow maize porridge. Qibainong chicken (七百弄鸡) is eaten three ways, as white-cut chicken, hot pot and giblets fried with sour bamboo shoots, and Huanjiang fragrant beef (环江香牛扣) is sliced and boiled or stir-fried with vegetables.

Getting oriented

The city government sits in Yizhou District (宜州区), the old Qingyuan. The Guizhou–Guangxi railway and the Guiyang–Nanning passenger line cross the prefecture.

Highlights

• Mulun National Nature Reserve 木论国家级自然保护区: Karst forest reserve in Huanjiang, set up in 1991; its karst joined the South China Karst World Natural Heritage site in 2014.
• Qibainong National Geopark 七百弄国家地质公园: Dahua geopark of high peak clusters and deep depressions, with a 16 km gorge lake.
• Small Three Gorges 小三峡: Gorge scenery at Liujia town, Jinchengjiang District, with a cliffside walkway over the water.
• Bama miniature pig 巴马香猪: Geographical-indication pig, roasted over charcoal and eaten with a sour sauce.
• Hemp-seed soup 火麻汤: Milky soup of ground hemp seeds, served with yellow maize porridge.