Hengzhou City 横州市

Setting and landscape

Hengzhou meets Guigang (贵港) to the east, Lingshan (灵山) and Pubei (浦北) counties of Qinzhou to the south, Nanning's Yongning (邕宁) and Qingxiu (青秀) districts to the west and Binyang (宾阳) to the north. The land is mostly hills and plains. The Yu River, its largest river, runs 144.5 km through the city and takes 1,000-tonne ships all year. The Pinglu Canal leaves the Xijin reservoir (西津库区) at the mouth of the Pingtang River (平塘江) and runs 134.2 km through Lingshan along the Qin River (钦江) to the Beibu Gulf.

History

The Hengzhou gazetteer office dates the start of local administration to 111 BC, when Anguang County (安广县) was seated where the city centre is now. The name Hengzhou was adopted in 634 under the Tang. The Ming turned it into Heng County in 1377 and restored the name Hengzhou in 1381; in 1913 it became Heng County again, and in 1952 the neighbouring Yongchun County (永淳县) was merged into it. On 3 February 2021 Heng County became the county-level city of Hengzhou. Figures the city links to its history include the Han general Ma Yuan (马援), the Song poet Qin Shaoyou (秦少游), the Ming emperor Zhu Yunwen (朱允炆) and the travel writer Xu Xiake (徐霞客).

What to see

The Fubo Temple (伏波庙) in Yunbiao (云表) honours Ma Yuan, who is credited with clearing the Wuman Rapids (乌蛮滩) for shipping. Its surviving halls date from the Ming and Qing, it hosts a temple fair on the 14th day of the fourth lunar month, and in 2013 it became Heng County's first national key cultural relics site. Regional protected sites include the Qing-dynasty Chenglu Pagoda (承露塔) in Luancheng Town (峦城) and the Bishan Flower House (笔山花屋) in Bishan village, Pinglang (平朗). The city's two 4A scenic areas are the Jiulong Waterfalls National Forest Park (九龙瀑布群国家森林公园) and the China Jasmine Garden (中华茉莉园); the city also lists the Xijin National Wetland Park (西津国家湿地公园) and the Liujing Devonian standard section reserve (六景泥盆系标准剖面保护区) among its main scenic sites.

Food and local products

The gazetteer office describes Hengzhou as the world's production centre for jasmine flowers and jasmine tea. Its geographical-indication products are Hengxian jasmine, Hengxian jasmine tea, Hengxian sweet corn, Hengxian root mustard (横县大头菜) and Nanshan white-hair tea (南山白毛茶), and it also styles itself China's home of the giant zongzi (大粽).

Getting oriented

The city seat is 100 km from Nanning. The Nanning–Yulin high-speed railway stops at Hengzhou and Luancheng stations, and the Hunan–Guangxi and Litang–Qinzhou railways cross the city.

Highlights

• Fubo Temple 伏波庙: Ming–Qing temple to Ma Yuan by the Wuman Rapids, a national key cultural relics site since 2013.
• China Jasmine Garden 中华茉莉园: One of the city's two 4A scenic areas.
• Jiulong Waterfalls National Forest Park 九龙瀑布群国家森林公园: The other 4A scenic area.
• Hengxian jasmine tea 横县茉莉花茶: Geographical-indication product of the self-styled world jasmine capital.