Zhangpu County 漳浦县

Setting and landscape

The land slopes from north-west to south-east. The Liangshan range (梁山), known for its "ninety-nine peaks", runs across the south-west, and its western half forms the border with Yunxiao, while the Shiping range (石屏山) in the north-west reaches 1,006 metres, the county's highest point. The Lu River (鹿溪), the longest river, runs 57 kilometres to Jiuzhen harbour (旧镇港). The 267-kilometre coast pushes out into three peninsulas, Zhengmei (整美), Liu'ao (六鳌) and Gulei (古雷), and its inlets form bays such as Futou Bay (浮头湾) and Jiangjun'ao (将军澳).

History

Zhangpu was created in 686 together with Zhangzhou prefecture. In 716 the seats of both moved to Li'aochuan (李澳川), today's Sui'an town (绥安镇), and stayed until an epidemic in 759 drove the prefecture seat to Longxi. The old saying "golden Zhangpu, silver Tong'an" (金漳浦、银同安), recorded in the Ming work Minshu (闽书), refers to the county's past wealth. Zhangpu produced 164 jinshi degree-holders, and its historical figures include Huang Daozhou (黄道周).

What to see

The county has five national key protected sites: Zhao Family Fort (赵家堡) with neighbouring Yi'an Fort (诒安堡), the mansion of Lan Tingzhen (蓝廷珍府第), Jinjiang Tower (锦江楼) in Shentu town (深土镇), the main hall of the Zhangpu Confucian Temple, and Huang Daozhou's lecture site and tomb. Liu'ao Ancient City (六鳌古城), a provincial protected site, is in Liu'ao town, which also has Jade Bay (翡翠湾) and Longmei Bay (龙美湾). The county's national 4A scenic areas include the Coastal Volcano National Geopark (滨海火山国家地质公园) and the Tianfu Tea Museum (天福茶博物院). Zhangpu paper-cutting (漳浦剪纸) is on the national intangible-heritage list, and bamboo-horse opera (竹马戏) is another local tradition.

Food and local products

Shiliu force-fed duck (石榴填鸭) is the nationally known speciality of Shiliu town (石榴镇). Liu'ao town grows sweet potatoes and laver, both with national geographical-indication status. Fotan town (佛昙镇) farms pufferfish, with a pufferfish food street, and Dongban village (东坂村) is called China's first pufferfish village. Shentu laver (深土紫菜) is dark and glossy with a tender, crisp bite; laver from the town's Nanjing village (南境村) was the county's first geographical-indication certification mark. Duxun crisp candy (杜浔酥糖) is another local speciality.

Getting oriented

Longhai lies to the north, Pinghe to the west and Yunxiao to the south-west, with Dongshan across the water. Shiliu town is 5 kilometres from the county town, and the Zhao Family Fort expressway exit is 11 kilometres from Chihu town (赤湖镇) on the east coast.

Highlights

• Zhao Family Fort 赵家堡: Fort listed with Yi'an Fort as a national key protected site.
• Liu'ao Ancient City 六鳌古城: Provincial protected site in Liu'ao town.
• Coastal Volcano National Geopark 滨海火山国家地质公园: One of the county's national 4A scenic areas.
• Zhangpu paper-cutting 漳浦剪纸: Folk art on the national intangible-heritage list.
• Shiliu force-fed duck 石榴填鸭: Duck dish from Shiliu town.