Xiantao 仙桃市

Setting and landscape

The land is low and flat and laced with lakes and rivers, which earned the area the names "land of fish and rice" (鱼米之乡) and "water country" (水乡泽国). Wuhan (武汉) lies to the east and Jingzhou (荆州) and Yichang (宜昌) to the west. The climate is subtropical monsoon with four clear seasons.

History

Objects dug up at Sha Lake (沙湖) and Yuezhou Lake (越舟湖) show people living here by the Neolithic. In 503, under the Liang dynasty, a Mianyang Commandery (沔阳郡) was created, named because its seat stood north of the Mian River (沔水). By the mid-Qing, Mianyang was the centre of the Hui Muslim settlements of the Jingzhou region. The Republic made Mianyang a county, and on 27 May 1986 the State Council replaced it with the city of Xiantao; in October 1994 Hubei placed the city under direct provincial administration.

What to see

The Miancheng scenic area, in Miancheng Hui Town (沔城回族镇) in the southwest of the city, is known for its "forty-eight old wells, forty-eight memorial arches and forty-eight old temples". Named sites include the former home of the late-Yuan rebel leader Chen Youliang (陈友谅), a terrace where Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮) is said to have studied, and the Tang-era walls of Fuzhou (复州). The Taoist Xuanmiao Temple (玄妙观), the Buddhist Pufo Temple (普佛寺), a mosque and a Confucius temple (孔圣庙) stand in the same area.

Dream Water Village (梦里水乡), on the state-run Zhaoxiyuan forest farm (赵西垸林场) in the west of the city, is a rural tourism area with a lotus-pond village, a wetland park, flower gardens and an RV camp. It was rated a national 4A tourist attraction in December 2019.

Food and local products

Mianyang three steams (沔阳三蒸) means steamed meat, fish and vegetables coated in rice flour. Legend credits the wife of Chen Youliang, who steamed meat, fish and lotus root in rice flour in a wooden steamer to reward his soldiers. In the Qing and Republican years many Wuhan restaurants hung out "Mianyang three steams" signs, and in Xiantao the saying goes "no banquet without steamed dishes" (无蒸不成席). Hubei listed it as provincial intangible heritage in June 2011.

Maozui braised chicken (毛嘴卤鸡), from Maozui Town (毛嘴镇), has about a century of history and is made from free-range roosters. Shahu salted eggs (沙湖盐蛋) were once sent as tribute to the Qing court.

Highlights

• Miancheng scenic area 沔城风景名胜区: Area in Miancheng Hui Town with Chen Youliang's former home, Tang-era Fuzhou walls and temples of four faiths.
• Dream Water Village 梦里水乡: Rural tourism area on the Zhaoxiyuan forest farm, rated national 4A in December 2019.
• Mianyang three steams 沔阳三蒸: Rice-flour steamed meat, fish and vegetables; provincial intangible heritage since June 2011.
• Maozui braised chicken 毛嘴卤鸡: Braised free-range rooster from Maozui Town, about a century old.
• Shahu salted eggs 沙湖盐蛋: Salted eggs once sent as tribute to the Qing court.