Yongtai County 永泰县

Setting and landscape

The Dazhang River runs 127 km inside the county. Temperature, rainfall, wind and cloud all change with altitude, which is why local people say that one mountain has four seasons and the weather differs every ten li. Forest covers 76.8% of the county according to the county government, and it describes bathing in hot springs as a traditional Yongtai health habit.

History

The county was created in 766, in the Tang Yongtai era, from parts of Houguan (侯官) and Youxi. In 1102 it was renamed Yongfu (永福) to avoid a taboo on an imperial tomb name, and in 1914 it took back the name Yongtai because Guangxi already had a Yongfu. In three successive examinations, in 1166, 1169 and 1172, Yongtai men Xiao Guoliang (萧国梁), Zheng Qiao (郑侨) and Huang Ding (黄定) each came first in the national imperial exam; the Liankui Pagoda (联奎塔) at Xishan (溪山) in the county town, built in the Daoguang reign, commemorates them.

What to see

Songkou Ancient Town (嵩口古镇) is the only town in Fuzhou prefecture listed as a Chinese Historic and Cultural Town. The county's fortified manor houses, the Yongtai zhuangzhai (永泰庄寨), number 152 well-preserved examples and are in the eighth batch of national key protected sites.

Qingyun Mountain (青云山), 13 km from the county town in Linglu (岭路乡), is a national key scenic area and 4A site of canyons, waterfalls and volcanic landforms; it is the reference locality for an Early Cretaceous volcanic sequence. Its name, "rising to the blue clouds", recalls the Southern Song scholar Xiao Guoliang, who studied here before taking first place. Yunding (云顶), at the top of Qingyun Mountain at an average altitude above 1,100 m, has upland meadows around a volcanic crater lake, terraced fields and a suspended plank walkway. Tianmen Mountain (天门山) is a national water-conservancy scenic area.

Food and local products

Plums are the main fruit crop, grown on some 130,000 mu, and Yongtai was named "China's Plum Village" by the State Forestry Administration in 2001. Dried Yongtai plums (永泰李干) carry Chinese geographical-indication protection covering the whole county.

Highlights

• Songkou Ancient Town 嵩口古镇: Fuzhou prefecture's only Chinese Historic and Cultural Town.
• Yongtai zhuangzhai 永泰庄寨: 152 well-preserved fortified manors, listed in the eighth batch of national key protected sites.
• Qingyun Mountain 青云山: 4A canyon and waterfall area set in Cretaceous volcanic rocks, 13 km from the county town.
• Yunding 永泰云顶: Top of Qingyun Mountain, averaging above 1,100 m, with meadows around a volcanic crater lake.
• Dried Yongtai plums 永泰李干: Geographical-indication product covering the whole county.