Tiandeng County 天等县

Setting and landscape

The land is mostly low mountains and hills, higher in the southwest, where the main peak of Sichengling (四城岭) reaches 1,073.7 metres, and lower in the northeast. No river flows through the county from outside; its twenty-odd streams are fed by springs. The Taiping River (太平河) and the Jinjie River (进结河) drain to the You River basin, the latter sinking underground and re-emerging in Pingguo (平果). The Longming River (龙茗河) flows into Daxin County (大新县) and belongs to the Zuo River basin. Summers (April to September) are hot and wet under southerly winds; winters are cooler and dry.

History

Under the Song the area was divided among loosely ruled settlements such as Longying (龙英) and Jie'an (结安). In 1916 and 1917 the local chieftain states (土州) were merged into three counties: Longming (龙茗县), Zhenjie (镇结县) and Xiangdu (向都县). Mergers in 1951 produced Zhendu County (镇都县), which the State Council renamed Tiandeng on 17 April 1957. Tiandeng has belonged to Chongzuo since the city was set up on 6 August 2003.

The Ming geographer Xu Xiake (徐霞客) spent 31 days in Tiandeng and wrote nearly 20,000 characters about its scenery, sixteen of those days at Xiangwu (向武州), the present Xiangdu town (向都镇).

What to see

Xiangdu town, in the northwest of the county, has the Wanfu Mountain (万福山) and Baiganyan (百感岩) landscapes that Xu Xiake described. The Zhuang Frost's Descent Festival (霜降节), which the county government says was placed on UNESCO's intangible heritage list in November 2016, is the most important festival of the year for Xiangdu people. The festival runs over three market days, nine days in all, and draws visitors from Debao (德保), Jingxi (靖西), Daxin and Tiandong (田东). The dalang dance (打榔舞) is another local tradition, and the county holds the title of China's home of dalang art.

Food and local products

Tiandeng's best-known product is the zhitian chili pepper (指天椒), bright red and extremely hot, nicknamed "the hottest under heaven" ("天下第一辣"). Both Tiandeng zhitian chili and Tiandeng zhitian chili sauce hold national geographical-indication protection. Large-fleshed ginger (大肉姜), star anise and kuding tea (苦丁茶) are other local specialities.

Getting oriented

The county lies 183 kilometres from Nanning (南宁) and 45 kilometres from the Vietnamese border. Longan County (隆安县) and Pingguo are to the east, Daxin to the south, Jingxi to the west, Debao to the northwest and Tiandong to the north.

Highlights

• Frost's Descent Festival 霜降节: The most important Zhuang festival of Xiangdu town, held over three market days (nine days in all).
• Baiganyan 百感岩: Scenery in Xiangdu town recorded by the Ming traveller Xu Xiake.
• Wanfu Mountain 万福山: Mountain landscape in Xiangdu town described in Xu Xiake's travel diaries.
• Tiandeng zhitian chili 天等指天椒: Very hot red chili with national geographical-indication protection, also made into a protected chili sauce.