Liancheng County 连城县

Setting and landscape

The county lies on the eastern side of the southern Wuyi Mountains (武夷山). A chain of river basins runs north to south through the centre-west, where the county town stands. About two-thirds of the land, in the east and south-east, belongs to the Meihua Mountain (梅花山) highlands of the Daimao range (玳瑁山脉), and Jiangjun Mountain (将军山) in Quxi (曲溪) feeds streams that end up in the Min (闽江), Ting (汀江) and Jiulong (九龙江) rivers. Songmao Ridge (松毛岭) in the west forms the boundary with Changting (长汀). The county lists eight hot springs, including those at Xinquan (新泉).

History

Once part of Changting, the area had a Tang-dynasty fort called Liancheng (莲城堡, 'lotus fort'), which gave its name to the county created in 1133. In 1346, after rebels were put down, the grass radical was dropped from the first character of the name, changing "莲" (lotus) to "连" (to join). Under the Ming and Qing it was one of the eight Hakka counties of Tingzhou prefecture (汀州府). Mao Zedong (毛泽东) led the Red Fourth Army into Liancheng three times in 1929, and the county was the main battlefield of the Songmaoling battle, the Central Red Army's last fight on its eastern front before the Long March.

What to see

Guanzhai Mountain (冠豸山) rises 1.5 kilometres east of the county town; it takes its name from a boulder shaped like the head of the mythical xiezhi (獬豸), and its main peak, Wulao (五老峰), reaches 661 metres. It became a national key scenic area in 1994 and was named in the fifth group of national geoparks in 2009; Shimen Lake (石门湖) is one of its nine touring areas. Peitian (培田) in Xuanhe (宣和) is a national historic and cultural village whose old buildings are a national key protected site. Sibao (四堡) was one of the four great woodblock-printing centres of the Ming and Qing, and its old printing houses are also nationally protected. The Yunlong Bridge (云龙桥), a covered bridge, hosts the Luofang 'walking stories' parade (罗坊走古事), listed as national intangible heritage along with Liancheng's woodblock printing.

Food and local products

The Liancheng white duck (连城白鸭), with white feathers, a black bill and black feet, is a protected local breed and a geographical-indication product; the county's best-known dish is the duck steamed over water (隔水清蒸). Red-heart dried sweet potato (红心地瓜干) is one of the eight dried foods of western Fujian and also holds geographical-indication status.

Highlights

• Mount Guanzhai 冠豸山: National key scenic area since 1994, 1.5 km east of the county town.
• Peitian Ancient Village 培田古民居: Historic village in Xuanhe whose old buildings are a national key protected site.
• Sibao woodblock printing 四堡: One of four Ming-Qing printing centres; the printing technique is national intangible heritage.
• Liancheng white duck 连城白鸭: White-feathered, black-billed local breed; its best-known dish is the duck steamed over water.