Xiangcheng District 芗城区

Setting and landscape

The land rises to the north-west, into the eastern spurs of the Boping Ridge (博平岭); the highest point is Sanjian Peak (三尖峰) on Tianbao Mountain (天宝山), 928.8 metres high. The south-east is alluvial plain. Hills and mountains make up about two-thirds of the district. The name comes from the Xiang River (芗江), a local name first used for a stretch of the North Stream and later for both streams where they pass the city.

History

The town began as the seat of Longxi County (龙溪县), created in 540. In 786 the prefectural seat of Zhangzhou moved here, and the town took the prefecture's name; it remained the seat of the prefecture through later dynasties. In 1951 the old county town became a county-level Zhangzhou city, and in 1985, when Zhangzhou became a prefecture-level city, that area was renamed Xiangcheng.

What to see

Zhangzhou Ancient City (漳州古城) keeps about 53 hectares of the Tang–Song inner town, with 15 protected sites and seven national intangible-heritage items. The Ming–Qing historic quarter around Hong Kong Road (香港路) and Taiwan Road (台湾路) covers 26 hectares of old street plan and houses. Two stone memorial arches and the Confucian Temple (漳州文庙) are national key protected monuments, and the quarter also holds the site of the old prefectural office and Bigan Temple (比干庙). Zhangzhou woodblock New Year prints (漳州木版年画) were made in this quarter.

On the western edge, Tianbao town (天宝镇) is the ancestral home of Lin Yutang (林语堂). Its Lin Yutang Cultural Park (林语堂文化园), below Tianbao Mountain, became Xiangcheng's first national 3A scenic area in 2021 and links his memorial hall and former residence by greenway. Elsewhere, Nanshan Temple (南山寺), founded in the Tang, and the Tang tomb of Chen Yuanguang (陈元光墓) are provincial-level protected sites.

Food, crafts and customs

Zhangzhou pig's-trotter noodles (漳州猪蹄面) pair thin alkaline noodles, kneaded and pounded for bite, with trotters braised golden-red in a stock made to a Zhangzhou recipe; the taste is sour, sweet and hot. The making technique has been on the city's intangible-heritage list since 2020. The district is also known for Pien Tze Huang medicine (片仔癀), narcissus, Babao seal paste (八宝印泥) and white fungus. In Punan town (浦南镇), the Punan nuo (浦南古傩) exorcism parade, on the national intangible-heritage list since 2011, features giant masks of a seventh-rank official and a clown carried high on bamboo frames.

Getting oriented

Xiangcheng lies 50 kilometres from Xiamen, with Longwen District to the east and the Jiulong separating it from the Zhangzhou high-tech zone to the south.

Highlights

• Zhangzhou Ancient City 漳州古城: About 53 hectares of the Tang–Song inner town with 15 protected sites.
• Ming–Qing historic quarter 漳州明清历史街区: 26-hectare quarter on Hong Kong and Taiwan roads with two stone arches and the Confucian Temple.
• Lin Yutang Cultural Park 林语堂文化园: National 3A park in Tianbao town, Lin Yutang's ancestral home.
• Zhangzhou pig's-trotter noodles 漳州猪蹄面: Alkaline noodles with braised trotters; municipal intangible heritage since 2020.
• Punan nuo 浦南古傩: Exorcism parade with giant official and clown masks; national intangible heritage since 2011.