Duanzhou District 端州区

Setting and landscape

The Beiling range, part of the Nanling mountains, closes the district to the north, Dinghu Mountain (鼎湖山) lies to the east and Gaoyao (高要区) to the west. Between them hills, rock outcrops and wide ponds give the town its long, thin shape, and the landforms include stone forests, karst caves and isolated peaks. The climate is subtropical and monsoonal, with summer lasting around seven months and no true winter.

History

The town was the seat of Gaoyao County (高要县) from 111 BC. The name Duanzhou dates from 589, when the Sui set up a prefecture of that name here, and in 1118 it was raised to Zhaoqing Prefecture (肇庆府), which lasted through the Ming and Qing. Emperor Huizong, who had been Prince of Duan before taking the throne, credited the prefecture with his rise. The modern district was created in 1988, when Zhaoqing became a prefecture-level city, and took the old prefecture's name.

What to see

The Seven Star Crags, in the centre and south of the district, are known for their "five lakes, six ridges, seven crags and eight caves"; with Dinghu Mountain they form the Zhaoqing Star Lake scenic area, a national 5A site since 2020, and their cliff inscriptions are a national key cultural relic. The Zhaoqing city wall (肇庆古城墙), also called the Song wall, is 2,801 metres round and largely intact; it was rebuilt in brick in 1113, carries the Piyun Tower (披云楼) on its north-west stretch, and became a national key cultural relic in 2001.

Mei'an (梅庵), on a ridge in Chengxi, was founded in 996 on the spot where Huineng (惠能), the Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, is said to have planted a plum tree; its main hall keeps Song-style beams and bracketing, and it has been a national key cultural relic since 1996.

Local products

Duan inkstones (端砚), on the national intangible-heritage list since 2006, originate from Baishi and Binri villages in Huanggang (黄岗), where for generations most villagers, with no farmland, have lived by quarrying stone and making inkstones. Cut by hand from Duanxi stone, they have been made since the early Tang and are known as the foremost of inkstones.

Highlights

• Seven Star Crags 七星岩: Karst peaks and lakes in the district centre, part of a national 5A scenic area since 2020.
• Zhaoqing city wall 肇庆古城墙: Song-era wall 2,801 metres round, national key cultural relic since 2001.
• Mei'an 梅庵: Buddhist temple founded in 996 where Huineng is said to have planted a plum.
• Duan inkstone 端砚: Hand-carved inkstone from Huanggang, national intangible heritage since 2006.