Qinbei District 钦北区

Setting and landscape

The Bancheng (板城江), Namen (那蒙江), Dasi (大寺江), Dazhi (大直江) and Guitai (贵台江) rivers are tributaries of the Maoling, Qinzhou's largest river, and all flow from north-west to south-east. The district chronicle office describes them as mountain rivers with steep drops, high banks, gorges and rapids. Nationally protected wild animals live mainly in the Wanggang Mountain (王岗山) nature reserve.

History

In 445 the Liu Song dynasty set up Songshou commandery (宋寿郡), with its seat at what is now Guchengjiao village in Pingji town (平吉镇); the district chronicle office calls it the earliest commandery-level unit in the Qinzhou area. In 523 Anjing commandery (安京郡) was set up, with its seat at the foot of Gudouling (古窦岭), then called Anjing Mountain. A short-lived Qinbei Zhuang Autonomous County, with its seat at Dasi (大寺), existed from 1957 to 1958. The present district was approved on 28 June 1994 and formally set up that October.

What to see

The district has three 4A scenic areas: Bazhaigou (八寨沟), the former residence of Feng Zicai (冯子材故居) and Linhu Forest Park (林湖森林公园). Feng's residence was built in 1875; he lived there in retirement and used it as the headquarters where he regrouped his troops before marching to fight the French. Its brick-and-timber halls follow a Qing southern mansion plan of three rows and nine buildings, and it became a national key protected site in 2001. Linhu, a provincial forest park, lies at the southern tip of the district, 3 kilometres from the Qinzhou city centre.

Food and local products

Xiaodong matong (小董麻通) from Xiaodong town is made from glutinous rice flour and red taro flour, fried into puffed sticks 10 to 12 centimetres long, glazed with sugar and rolled in toasted sesame; it took first place at a Guangxi pastry-making contest in 1981. Dasi pork tripe (大寺猪肚巴) is cured with sugar, salt and spices, then cut, sun-dried, fried and braised in an iron wok over a wood fire; it entered Qinzhou's municipal intangible-heritage list in 2016. Qinbei also carries the titles of home of Heiye litchis (黑叶荔) and of orchard-raised chicken.

Getting oriented

Qinbei borders Lingshan County to the east, Qinnan District to the south, Fangcheng District and Shangsi County to the west, and Nanning's Liangqing and Yongning districts to the north. It is 106 kilometres from Nanning, 108 kilometres from Beihai and 64 kilometres from Fangchenggang, and the high-speed lines from Nanning to Fangchenggang and to Beihai pass through.

Highlights

• Former residence of Feng Zicai 冯子材故居: Built in 1875; Feng's retirement home and wartime headquarters, a national key protected site since 2001.
• Bazhaigou 八寨沟: One of the district's three 4A scenic areas.
• Linhu Forest Park 林湖森林公园: Provincial forest park and 4A scenic area 3 kilometres from Qinzhou city centre.
• Xiaodong matong 小董麻通: Fried glutinous-rice sticks coated in sugar and toasted sesame.
• Dasi pork tripe 大寺猪肚巴: Cured, sun-dried, fried and braised tripe; on Qinzhou's municipal intangible-heritage list since 2016.