Yunxiao County 云霄县

Setting and landscape

The land tilts from mountains in the north-west to the sea in the south-east. The highest point, Xishanyuan (西山源), is the main peak of the Wushan range (乌山) at 1,117 metres. The Zhang River enters from the north and runs 58.2 kilometres through the county to Zhangjiang Bay (漳江湾); Dongshan Bay (东山湾) takes the rivers of the south-east. At the river mouth, the Zhangjiang Estuary Mangrove National Nature Reserve (漳江口红树林国家级自然保护区), an internationally important wetland, shelters more than 150 kinds of rare birds; the county describes it as the largest by area in China north of the Tropic of Cancer.

History

In 686 Chen Yuanguang (陈元光) petitioned for a new prefecture named after the Zhang River, with its seat at Xilin (西林村) in today's Huotian town (火田镇); in 716 the seat moved to Li'aochuan (李澳川), today's Zhangpu county town. Huotian, where Chen garrisoned troops and cleared land, is the county's only provincial-level historical and cultural town. Yunxiao became a sub-prefecture (云霄厅) in 1798, formed from parts of Zhangpu, Pinghe and Zhao'an, and a county in 1913.

What to see

Yunling town (云陵镇), long the county's centre, on the plain between Dachen Mountain (大臣山) and General Mountain (将军山), holds the main Chen Yuanguang sites: his former residence, Yanyi Palace (燕翼宫), and Weihui Temple (威惠庙), the ancestral temple of his cult. His procession, the Kaizhang Shengwang Xun'an (开漳圣王巡安), is on the provincial intangible-heritage list. General Mountain Park contains the tomb of his father Chen Zheng (陈政). Yunling also keeps the former home of Qiu Jin (秋瑾), the "Heroine of Jian Lake", who was born in Yunxiao. In Dongxia town (东厦镇), Gaoxi Temple (高溪庙) marks the founding place of the Heaven and Earth Society (天地会), and Shifan Pagoda (石矾塔) stands at the Zhang River mouth.

Food and local products

Yunxiao loquat (云霄枇杷) is a national geographical-indication product, and the county calls itself China's home of the loquat. Dongxia town, where the Zhang estuary mixes fresh and salt water, lists eight geographical-indication seafoods, among them mudskippers, mud crabs, oysters, clams, blood cockles and razor clams. In Yunling, Xiaban beef balls (下坂牛肉丸) are known for their springy bite, alongside old-style snacks such as mung-bean rice cakes (绿豆粉粿). Huotian's geographical-indication products include pineapples, green jujubes and Damao Mountain tea (大茂山茶).

Getting oriented

The county government sits in Pumei town (莆美镇). The Xiamen–Shenzhen railway and the Shenyang–Haikou expressway cross the county, and Dongxia lies 105 kilometres from Xiamen and 120 kilometres from Shantou.

Highlights

• Zhangjiang Estuary Mangrove National Nature Reserve 漳江口红树林国家级自然保护区: Internationally important wetland with more than 150 kinds of rare birds.
• Weihui Temple 威惠庙: Ancestral temple of the Chen Yuanguang cult in Yunling town.
• Huotian 火田镇: First seat of Zhangzhou prefecture in 686; provincial historical and cultural town.
• Gaoxi Temple 高溪庙: Founding place of the Heaven and Earth Society, in Dongxia town.
• Yunxiao loquat 云霄枇杷: National geographical-indication fruit.