Yuzhong County 榆中县

Setting and landscape

The county falls into three zones. The dry northern hills, 1,800 to 2,600 metres high, get about 300 millimetres of rain a year and grow spring wheat, peas, potatoes, maize and flax. The central zone of river flats and tablelands, 1,400 to 2,000 metres, is a basin where most farming and industry are concentrated, with vegetables, grain, melons and flowers. In the south, Maxian and Xinglong mountains form a cold, wetter upland from 1,900 to 3,670 metres that supplies the county town's water. The county government describes Yuzhong as the geometric centre of China's land area.

History

People lived here about 15,000 years ago, in the Palaeolithic. Meng Tian's campaign against the Xiongnu dates to 214 BC, and after the area was lost again, Emperor Wu of Han re-established Yuzhong County in 127 BC. In 385 the Xianbei leader Qifu Guoren (乞伏国仁) built Yongshi city (勇士城) at Yuanchuan (苑川) and founded the Western Qin (西秦) state. Known as Jin County under the Ming and Qing, it was renamed Jincheng in August 1919 to avoid a clash with Jin County in Fengtian (now Liaoning), and took back the name Yuzhong that October. The county came under Lanzhou in 1970.

What to see

Xinglong Mountain is a national 4A scenic area and national forest park. On Maxian Mountain, south of it, the summit rises to 3,670 metres and forms a broad plateau 8 to 10 kilometres wide, with frozen-ground landforms and relics of former periglacial conditions. The Ming prince Zhuang of Su (肃庄王) made it a summer retreat in 1392, and under the Qing its snow counted among the Eight Views of Yuzhong. Qingcheng Ancient Town (青城古镇) is a national historic and cultural town, and the tomb of the Ming Prince of Su (明肃王墓) is among the county's eleven national or provincial protected sites.

Food and local products

Bracken (蕨菜), the young curled fronds of the fern, is one of the four mountain delicacies of Xinglong Mountain. It is hard to keep fresh, so it is mostly sold pickled or dried; cooks blanch it in boiling water, then stir-fry it with egg or meat. Yuzhong has also been named China's "home of licorice" (中国甘草之乡).

Getting oriented

The Lianyungang–Khorgas Expressway (连霍高速), national highways 312 and 309 and the Longhai railway cross the county, and the Lanzhou–Chongqing railway and Baoji–Lanzhou high-speed line both have hubs here.

Highlights

• Xinglong Mountain 兴隆山: National 4A scenic area and national forest park; bracken is one of its four mountain delicacies.
• Maxian Mountain 马啣山: Summit plateau at 3,670 m with frozen-ground landforms; a Ming prince's summer retreat from 1392.
• Qingcheng Ancient Town 青城古镇: Listed as a national historic and cultural town.
• Tomb of the Ming Prince of Su 明肃王墓: Among the county's eleven national or provincial protected sites.