Raoping County 饶平县

Setting and landscape

Mountains close the county on the east, north and west, with valleys, basins and plain in the middle. The highest peak, Xiyan Mountain (西岩山), reaches 1,256 metres. The Huanggang River rises in the far north and runs 87.2 kilometres through the county to the sea; the south is its delta, with islands and bays. Haishan Island (海山岛), the largest of 47 islands, has been joined to the mainland by land reclaimed from the sea after 1949. The Tangxi Reservoir (汤溪水库) on the middle river, built in 1958–1959 and known as North Lake, holds 72 islands.

History

The name means "always fertile, always at peace". Raoping was carved out of Haiyang County and became a county in 1477 under the Ming; its old seat was at Sanrao (三饶), and the seat moved to Huanggang (黄冈) in 1953. Dacheng (大埕所城) was a fortress where Qi Jiguang (戚继光) and others fought Japanese pirates, and the 1907 Huanggang uprising is described as a forerunner of the 1911 Revolution. The north is Hakka-speaking and the south speaks Teochew.

What to see

Raoping has more than 700 old fortified buildings and walled villages. The best known, Daoyun Lou (道韵楼) in Nanlian village, Sanrao town, was built in 1587 and became a national protected site in 2006. Qinglan Geopark (青岚地质公园) in Zhangxi (樟溪) is a national geopark of granite caves, stone forest, gorges and groups of rock potholes. The Zhelin Wind Pagoda (柘林镇风塔), a seven-storey granite tower of 1353, is a provincial protected site, and Longfu Temple (隆福寺) on Haishan dates from the Jin dynasty. On Xi'ao Island (西澳岛) at Zhelin egrets gather.

Food and local products

Lingtou Dancong tea (岭头单丛茶), an oolong from Lingtou village in Fubin (浮滨), has eel-yellow leaves and an orange-red liquor with a honeyed floral aroma. It and Gaotang caipu (高堂菜脯), crisp, sweet preserved radish, are national geographical-indication products. The county traces the lion-head goose (狮头鹅) to Xilou village in Fubin. Other local foods are Da'ao blood clams (大澳珠蚶), Fushan dried persimmons (浮山柿饼) and Huanggang baodou cakes (宝斗饼), eight-cornered pastries filled with mung-bean paste and winter melon.

Highlights

• Daoyun Lou 道韵楼: Fortified building of 1587 in Sanrao town, a national protected site since 2006.
• Qinglan Geopark 青岚地质公园: National geopark of granite caves, stone forest and rock potholes in Zhangxi.
• Zhelin Wind Pagoda 柘林镇风塔: Seven-storey granite pagoda built in 1353, a provincial protected site.
• Lingtou Dancong tea 岭头单丛茶: Oolong from Lingtou village, Fubin, a national geographical-indication product.
• Gaotang caipu 高堂菜脯: Preserved radish from Gaotang town, a national geographical-indication product.