Zhenjiang District 浈江区

Setting and history

Central Shaoguan stands where the Wu and Zhen (浈江) rivers meet to form the North River. The district government notes that Zhenjiang has been the seat of Shaozhou prefecture (韶州府) since the Sui dynasty, and that military and administrative offices for northern Guangdong were based here from the Qin and Han onwards. The district was created in November 1975; in 2004 the former Beijiang District and the towns of Lishi and Huaping from Qujiang County were merged into it. The climate is subtropical, with annual mean temperatures of 18.8 to 20.7°C.

What to see

Fengcai Tower (风采楼), about 22 metres high with triple flying eaves, is the city's landmark. A Ming prefect built it to honour the Northern Song minister Yu Jing (余靖); it was moved to its present site and rebuilt in reinforced concrete in 1934, its name plaque is in the hand of the Ming scholar Chen Baisha (陈白沙), and its third floor holds an exhibition on Yu Jing's life. It is the only survivor of three memorial towers that once stood in Zhenjiang. Other old sites include Dajian Temple (大鉴寺), dating from the Tang, and the Dacheng Hall of the Shaozhou prefectural school (韶州府学宫).

The Northern Expedition War Memorial (北伐战争纪念馆), which the district calls Guangdong's first, recreates Sun Yat-sen's bedroom, office and staff room from his time directing the expedition in Shaoguan. The Lishi pawnshop (犁市当铺), a late-Qing brick-and-timber complex listed by Guangdong in 2012, sheltered Zhu De (朱德) and more than 800 troops of the Nanchang Uprising from December 1927 until early 1928. In Dacun village (大村), Lingnan University and other schools taught during the war against Japan. For views, Lianhua Mountain (莲花山) in Shaoguan National Forest Park (韶关国家森林公园) has the Shaoyang Tower (韶阳楼) overlooking the city.

Food and local customs

Qingshi Street (青石街), once paved with bluestone, is an old snack street, and Xinglong Street (兴隆街) is known as "mushroom street" for its dried shiitake and other northern Guangdong produce. Longsheng (隆盛) soy sauce is brewed by a Shaoguan method on the provincial heritage list, sun-fermented in vats for 180 to 700 days. Dabei village (大陂村) makes guilinggao (龟苓膏), turtle jelly boiled for 12 hours with 18 herbs. Local life mixes Cantonese and Hakka customs: the "spring ox" dance (舞春牛) of Lishi is on Guangdong's first heritage list, and Wantou village (湾头村) parades a straw dragon studded with burning incense for three nights at the Lantern Festival.

Highlights

• Fengcai Tower 风采楼: About 22-metre landmark tower honouring the Song minister Yu Jing, rebuilt on its present site in 1934.
• Northern Expedition War Memorial 北伐战争纪念馆: Museum with recreated rooms from Sun Yat-sen's Northern Expedition headquarters in Shaoguan.
• Lishi pawnshop 犁市当铺: Late-Qing commercial complex where Zhu De's Nanchang Uprising troops stayed in 1927-28; Guangdong protected site since 2012.
• Shaoguan National Forest Park 韶关国家森林公园: Mountain park about 2 km from the city centre, with a tower on Lianhua Mountain overlooking Shaoguan.
• Spring ox dance 舞春牛: New Year dance with a bamboo-and-paper ox; on Guangdong's first intangible-heritage list in 2006.