Pubei County 浦北县

History

In AD 43 the seat of Hepu commandery (合浦郡) was moved from Xuwen in today's Guangdong to Jiuzhou (旧州) in what is now Quanshui town (泉水镇). In 471 the Liu Song dynasty set up Yuezhou (越州), with its seat at Yangtianwo (仰天窝) in today's Shiyong town (石埇镇), which is why Pubei is still called Yuezhou. The Yuezhou old city site is a nationally protected monument. Pubei was part of Guangdong until 1952, when it was split from Hepu and placed under Guangxi; it was merged back into Hepu in 1958 and restored as a county in 1965.

The Tiao Lingtou (跳岭头) folk custom is on the national intangible-heritage list. Provincial listings cover the Pubei green-dragon dance (浦北舞青龙), Liao opera (浦北鹩剧), the qilin dance and the handmade Xiaojiang porcelain (小江瓷) craft.

What to see

Wuhuang Mountain, a 4A scenic area and national geopark, lies mainly in Longmen town (龙门镇), 32 kilometres from the county town. Its nine main peaks average 700 metres, the highest being Qingshanding (青山顶) at 778.8 metres, and it is divided into three areas: Rentoushi (人头石), Meizhuizhai (妹追寨) and Shizhuling (石柱岭). Visitors find upland meadows, tea gardens, terraced fields, waterfalls and granite rocks, and 113,800 mu of natural secondary hongzhui forest, which the county tourism bureau lists as the largest continuous stand in China.

Dalang Academy (大朗书院) in Pingma village, Xiaojiang town, 3 kilometres from the county town, was built in 1899 and is the best preserved of the 16 academies built in Pubei under the Qing; it is a regional protected site with a strong Hakka character. The Xiaojiang Porcelain Art Museum (小江瓷艺术馆) shows pieces from a ware with more than 1,500 years of history.

Food and local products

The county government describes Pubei as the Chinese county with the largest banana-growing area and output. It also grows more than 190,000 mu of dahong mandarins (大红柑), the basis of a large chenpi (陈皮, dried peel) industry, and carries the titles of home of the hongzhui mushroom and of the Chinese honeybee. Shenfu wine (神蜉酒), a well-known local product since the 1980s, is shown at the Shenfu Wine Estate, a 4A industrial-tourism site 2 kilometres from the county government.

Getting oriented

The county town is about 210 kilometres from Nanning and about 120 kilometres from Beihai. Pubei borders Bobai County to the east, Lingshan County to the west, Hepu County to the south, and Guigang, Hengzhou and Xingye County to the north.

Highlights

• Wuhuang Mountain 五皇山: 4A scenic area of granite peaks, meadows, tea gardens and a large natural hongzhui forest; highest peak 778.8 metres.
• Dalang Academy 大朗书院: Built in 1899; the best preserved of Pubei's 16 Qing-era academies.
• Xiaojiang Porcelain Art Museum 小江瓷艺术馆: Museum of Xiaojiang ware, a porcelain tradition of more than 1,500 years.
• Tiao Lingtou 跳岭头: Folk custom on the national intangible-heritage list.