Longxi County 陇西县

Setting and landscape

The land is higher in the north-west and lower in the south-east, between 1,612 and 2,762 metres. It falls into three long strips: the northern hills of loess ridges and gullies, the Wei River valley plain in the middle and low hills in the south. The climate is temperate and semi-arid, with an average of 8.1°C and about 415 mm of rain a year.

History

Yangshao and Qijia (齐家) culture sites show early settlement. The Qin set up Longxi Commandery (陇西郡) in 272 BC, the Han founded Xiangwu County (襄武县), and the Sui gave the county its present name. Under the Yuan it was the seat of the Gongchang command (巩昌都总帅府), and under the Ming it was the seat of Gongchang Prefecture (巩昌府). When Shaanxi and Gansu were split in 1667, Gongchang Prefecture, still seated here, passed to the new Gansu administration. The Gansu governor was also stationed here for a time, and the county government calls Longxi the earliest capital of Gansu.

Longxi is the ancestral seat of the Longxi Li lineage; the Tang dynasty's ruling Li family descended from it, and the county calls itself the place where Li families trace their roots.

What to see

Li-clan sites include Longxi Hall (陇西堂), Li Jia Long Gong (李家龙宫) and the tomb of Li He (李贺墓). The Dingxi city government singles out the Weiyuan Tower (威远楼) in Longxi, and lists the Longxi Yunyang clappers (陇西云阳板) among Dingxi's national intangible-heritage items. Other named sights are Renshou Mountain Forest Park (仁寿山森林公园), the Baochang building (保昌楼), Wenfeng Tower (文峰塔) and the Wenfeng herbal medicine market (文峰药材市场).

Food and local products

More than ten herbs, among them dangshen (党参) and angelica (当归), have been grown here for over a thousand years. Longxi white-strip dangshen (陇西白条党参), Longxi astragalus (陇西黄芪) and Longxi cured pork (陇西腊肉) are national geographical-indication products.

The "three specialities of Longyuan" (陇原三绝) are jinqian rou (金钱肉, "coin meat", cured donkey pizzle sliced into coin shapes), cured ham, whose making dates to the Qianlong reign, and tongue (口条). A spring snack is the "yikeyin" chive bun (一颗印韭菜包子): first-cut chives with a square, seal-sized piece of the local ham pressed into the middle, steamed so the fat soaks into the filling. The "ten mutton dishes" (羊十道) banquet uses meat from different parts of one sheep for ten dishes.

Getting oriented

Longxi is 180 km from Lanzhou and 164 km from Tianshui (天水). The Longhai railway, the second Baoji–Lanzhou line and the Lianhuo expressway cross the county.

Highlights

• Li Jia Long Gong 李家龙宫: Li-clan heritage site named by the county government.
• Weiyuan Tower 威远楼: Tower in Longxi named by the Dingxi city government among its landmark monuments.
• Tomb of Li He 李贺墓: Listed by the county among its Li-clan sites.
• Wenfeng herbal medicine market 文峰药材市场: Herb market listed among Longxi's sights.
• Yikeyin chive bun 一颗印韭菜包子: Steamed spring bun of first-cut chives with a square of cured ham in the centre.