Yong'an 永安市

History

After Deng Maoqi (邓茂七) led a revolt in Sha County in 1448, officials argued that its Fuliu (浮流) area was remote and hard to control, and in 1452 thirteen of Sha's districts south of Xinling (新岭) became a new county named Yong'an, "lasting peace". In April 1938, during the war against Japan, the Fujian provincial government moved here from Fuzhou, and Yong'an served as the wartime provincial capital for more than seven years, drawing writers and thinkers; the city government points to the wartime cultural sites at Jishan (吉山).

What to see

The Taoyuan Cave national scenic area (桃源洞), 9 kilometres north of the city beside National Highway 205, spreads along both banks of the Sha River (沙溪) among Danxia cliffs. It took its present name in 1605, when Chen Yuanzhan (陈源湛) built pavilions there. Its Yixiantian (一线天) is a crack 120 metres long and 90 metres high, so narrow that one person must pass sideways; Xu Xiake (徐霞客) praised it. The Linyin stone forest (鳞隐石林), called China's second-largest stone forest, forms a 4A scenic area with Taoyuan Cave.

Anzhenbao (安贞堡) in Huainan (槐南), a national key cultural relics protection unit, is an earth fortress built by Chi Zhanrui (池占瑞), a late-Qing tribute student and landowner, against bandits; it has more than 320 rooms, walls on stone footings 4 metres thick, loopholes, and eaves carved with scenes from the classic novels. Gongchuan (贡川), 18 kilometres north of the city, keeps the covered Huiqing Bridge (会清桥) where the Sha and Hugong (胡贡溪) streams meet, with a shrine to Zhenwu (真武) in its pavilion. The Qingshui "daqiang" opera (大腔戏) is on the first national intangible heritage list, and Tianbaoyan (天宝岩) is a national nature reserve.

Food and local products

Simmered tofu (煨豆腐) is the best-known local snack: tofu is slow-cooked over charcoal in a big iron pot with cuttlefish, pig's trotters and pork ribs until it turns honeycombed, then cut small and dipped in soy sauce, crushed garlic and rock sugar. The city holds geographical indication marks for products including dried bamboo shoots (永安笋干), Jishan old wine (永安吉山老酒), Luofang cured duck (永安罗坊腊鸭) and Huainan rice vermicelli (槐南粉干).

Getting oriented

Datian County (大田县) lies to the east, Liancheng (连城) to the west, Zhangping (漳平) to the south, and Mingxi (明溪) and Sanyuan District (三元区) to the north. The Yingtan–Xiamen railway (鹰厦铁路) crosses the city, and Yong'an South station (永安南站) serves the Nanping–Sanming–Longyan (南三龙) and Xingguo–Quanzhou (兴泉) railways.

Highlights

• Taoyuan Cave 桃源洞: National scenic area of Danxia cliffs on the Sha River with a 120-metre Yixiantian crevice.
• Anzhenbao 安贞堡: Late-Qing earth fortress with over 320 rooms; national key protected site.
• Huiqing Bridge 会清桥: Covered bridge at Gongchuan where two streams meet.
• Simmered tofu 煨豆腐: Tofu slow-cooked with cuttlefish, trotters and ribs over charcoal.