Pingxiang 凭祥市

History

Under the Qin the area belonged to Xiang Commandery (象郡), and the name Pingxiang dates from the Pingxiang settlement (凭祥峒) set up under the Northern Song. Pingxiang became a city in November 1956, the fifth in Guangxi; in June 1992 it became an open border city.

The pass itself dates from the Han dynasty and has changed names several times: Yongji Pass (雍鸡关), Zhennan Pass (镇南关) from the early Ming, and Friendship Pass since 1965. In 1885 the Qing general Feng Zicai (冯子材) defeated French forces here; in December 1907 Sun Yat-sen (孙中山) led the Zhennan Pass Uprising on Jinji Mountain (金鸡山), the only one of his ten uprisings in which he took part in the fighting. On 11 December 1949 the People's Liberation Army raised its flag at the pass, marking the liberation of Guangxi, and the date became the region's anniversary day.

What to see

Friendship Pass, a 4A scenic area and national protected site, lies on the border 15 kilometres from the city centre. Its gate tower was rebuilt in 1957. Around it stand a Ming-era fort on Zuobi Mountain (左弼山), the French-style building that housed the late-Qing border affairs office, and, about 400 metres north, the mass grave of Qing soldiers killed in the Sino-French War.

Jinji Mountain, on the right of the gate tower, rises to 596 metres and was listed as a national protected site in June 2006. Its three forts were built under the Qing commander Su Yuanchun (苏元春) and completed in 1895, with Krupp guns hauled up the mountain; the northern fort's gun, made in 1891, is still in place. The city government also lists the Dalian Fort (大连城), the underground defences of Pinggangling (平岗岭地下长城), a redwood-furniture market (红木文博城) and the Ping'er River (平而河) border river among its sights.

Setting and landscape

Pingxiang lies south of the Tropic of Cancer and has a hot, wet subtropical monsoon climate, with summer lasting from mid April to mid October and most rain from June to August. Its largest river, the Ping'er, rises in northern Vietnam, enters China at Ping'er Pass and flows on towards Longzhou (龙州) to join the Zuo River (左江).

Getting oriented

Friendship Pass is 176 kilometres from Nanning (南宁), 18 kilometres from Lang Son (谅山) in Vietnam and 170 kilometres from Hanoi. The city has two international crossings, the Friendship Pass road port and the Pingxiang railway port. The Hunan–Guangxi Railway (湘桂铁路) and National Highway 322 cross the city.

Highlights

• Friendship Pass 友谊关: Han-era border pass still in use; 4A scenic area and national protected site, 15 km from the city centre.
• Jinji Mountain forts 金鸡山炮台: Three Qing forts completed in 1895 with Krupp guns; site of Sun Yat-sen's 1907 uprising; national protected site since 2006.
• Dalian Fort 大连城: Historic site listed by the city government among its main sights; a provincial-level protected site.
• Ping'er River 平而河: Border river that enters China from Vietnam at Ping'er Pass and flows towards Longzhou.