Hunyuan County 浑源县

Setting and landscape

The county sits on the edge of the Loess Plateau, with mountains in the south, slopes in the north and a river plain between them. The Heng range runs from northeast to southwest; the highest point is Woyangchang Mountain (卧羊场山) at 2,333 metres and the lowest the bed of the Hun River (浑河) at 1,050 metres. The Hun, a tributary of the Sanggan (桑干河) on the upper Yongding, flows 62 km through the county, and the Tang River (唐河), a southern tributary of the Daqing (大清河), runs 31 km through it. The Tangtou hot spring (汤头温泉) emerges at 63 °C.

History

Under the Western Han the area was called Guo County (崞县), and the name Hunyuan was fixed under the Tang. In 1267 it was merged into Hunyuan Prefecture (浑源州) under Datong Circuit, becoming Hunyuan County again in May 1912. Before the Ming, the name Mount Heng meant Damao Mountain (大茂山) in Hebei; in the Shunzhi reign of the Qing the state sacrifice to the Northern Peak moved to Xuanyue Mountain (玄岳山) in Hunyuan, which then took the name Hengshan.

The walled town was moved to its present site under the Later Tang and became a provincial historic and cultural city in 1993. Its octagonal, turtle-shaped plan runs along Yong'an West Street (永安西街), with lanes branching off like fishbones, and it keeps 154 old houses.

What to see

Mount Heng became one of China's first national scenic areas in 1982. Its main peak, Tianfeng Ling (天峰岭), rises to 2,016.1 metres, and the mountain is counted as the fifth of Daoism's 36 grotto-heavens.

The Hanging Temple lies between the county town and Mount Heng, about three kilometres from the mountain gate, in a hollow halfway up Cuiping Mountain (翠屏山). Founded under the Northern Wei, with buildings now mostly Ming and Qing, its 40 wooden rooms rest on 27 beams; its highest point is over 90 metres above the valley floor. The Three Teachings Hall (三教殿) enshrines Shakyamuni, Confucius and Laozi. It became a national key site in 1982.

Six more national key sites stand in the county: Yong'an Temple (永安寺), Dayun Temple (大云寺), Yuanjue Temple (圆觉寺), the Lülü Shrine (律吕神祠), the Confucian temple (文庙) and the tomb of the Qing river official Li Yumei (栗毓美). Shenxi National Wetland Park (神溪国家湿地公园) covers 316 hectares and contains the Lülü Shrine and Shenxi village (神溪村), a listed traditional village.

Local products

Hengshan astragalus (恒山黄芪) is a Chinese geographical indication product.

Highlights

• Mount Heng 恒山: The Northern Peak since the Qing; main peak Tianfeng Ling, 2,016.1 m; national scenic area since 1982.
• Hanging Temple 悬空寺: Northern Wei foundation on a cliff of Cuiping Mountain, held up by 27 wooden beams; national key site since 1982.
• Hunyuan old town 浑源古城: Octagonal walled town on Yong'an West Street; provincial historic and cultural city since 1993.
• Shenxi National Wetland Park 神溪国家湿地公园: 316-hectare wetland park containing the Lülü Shrine and Shenxi village.
• Hengshan astragalus 恒山黄芪: Chinese geographical indication product.