Dongxiang Autonomous County 东乡族自治县

Setting and landscape

The county rises to a high centre and drops away on every side. Six mountain ridges and six gullies spread out from the county town, Suonanba (锁南坝), a broken landscape that has earned the names "ribs of the earth" and "where the mountains gather". Altitude ranges from 1,735 to 2,664 metres; about 532 millimetres of rain falls a year, while evaporation reaches 1,493 millimetres. Danxia landforms stand beside the Liujiaxia reservoir (刘家峡水库) and at Tangwang (唐汪).

People and history

The Dongxiang are Muslims with their own spoken language but no script. They are traced to Muslim groups moved from Central Asian cities such as Samarkand during Genghis Khan's western campaigns, who merged with local Hui, Han, Tibetan and Mongol people. The county's forerunner, the Dongxiang Autonomous District, was set up on 25 September 1950 from parts of four neighbouring counties and named for lying east of Hezhou (河州).

Painted-pottery remains of the Majiayao (马家窑), Qijia (齐家) and Xindian (辛店) cultures are widespread. A copper knife from the Linjia site (林家遗址) is described by the county as the earliest cast copper object found in China, and the Nalesi (那勒寺) area has yielded rich beds of animal fossils.

What to see

Tangwang combines Danxia cliffs, the Tangwang archaeological site, the Hongta rock pillars and Southern Song murals in the Hongta grottoes (红塔石窟), with apricot blossom in April. Xiehu Gorge (泄湖峡), one of the Eight Views of Hezhou, runs about five kilometres and drops some 100 metres between red cliffs. Dongdapo Forest Park (东大坡森林公园), 12 kilometres from Linxia city, looks out over Linxia from its summit. The Dongxiang County Museum, opened in 2005, displays ethnic costume, historical relics and fossils. At Bulenggou (布楞沟) a village history museum anchors a folk-culture village.

Food and crafts

Dongxiang hand-held mutton (东乡手抓羊肉) is known across China, and the county presents the pinghuo (平伙) way of dividing portions as an expression of equality and mutual help. Other local foods include youxiang (油香), sanzi (馓子), the "chicken-tail feast" (鸡尾宴) and lashiha (拉什哈); Tangwang apricots and Dahongpao Sichuan pepper (大红袍花椒) are among the local products known beyond Gansu. The Dongxiang epic "Mila Gahei" (米拉尕黑) and felt-making are on the national intangible heritage list. Dongxiang embroidery, a prefecture-level heritage item, favours bold red-and-green schemes with apricot blossom, peony and mandarin-duck motifs.

Highlights

• Tangwang 唐汪: Danxia cliffs, Hongta grottoes with Southern Song murals and April apricot blossom.
• Xiehu Gorge 泄湖峡: About 5 km gorge with a 100 m drop, one of the Eight Views of Hezhou.
• Linjia site 林家遗址: Source of a copper knife the county calls the earliest cast copper object found in China.
• Dongxiang embroidery 东乡刺绣: Prefecture-level intangible heritage, worked in bold red and green floral designs.