Anlong County 安龙县

History

The Ming set up the Anlong garrison (安隆守御千户所) here in 1381. In 1652 the Southern Ming Yongli emperor Zhu Youlang (朱由榔) made Anlong his secondary capital and renamed it Anlong prefecture, which gave the town its nickname "Dragon City" (龙城). The county government notes that the court stayed four years and that Anlong is the only place in Guizhou's history to have served as an imperial capital. Qing troops took the town in 1658 and added a bamboo radical to the "long" of its name (安笼); it was later named Xingyi prefecture (兴义府), became Nanlong County in 1913 and Anlong County in 1931.

Relics of that past listed by the county government include the Hall of the Eighteen Ming Scholars (明十八学士祠), the Xingyi prefectural examination hall (兴义府试院) and the Yongli imperial palace (南明永历皇宫). The late-Qing statesman Zhang Zhidong (张之洞) spent his boyhood here.

What to see

Anlong Zhaodi (安龙招堤) lies at the northeast corner of the old town and is a Guizhou provincial protected site. The garrison commander Zhao Guolin (招国遴) built the stone dike in 1694 against floods, and it carries his name. In 1848 the Xingyi prefect Zhang Ying (张锳), Zhang Zhidong's father, raised it by five chi and planted lotus in the lake to its north. On Jinxing Hill (金星山) west of the dike, the 11-year-old Zhang Zhidong wrote the Record of the Banshan Pavilion (半山亭记), a text of more than 790 characters that is carved on the pavilion's rock wall.

Natural sights named by the county government include the Dushan cave cluster (笃山溶洞群), Longtou Mountain (龙头大山), Xianheping National Forest Park (仙鹤坪国家级森林公园) and Wanfeng Lake (万峰湖).

Food and local traditions

Anlong holds the title of China's home of jianfen (中国剪粉之乡). Jianfen (剪粉) is a local snack of rice sheets cut with scissors; because the sheet is rolled up while it is made, it is also called juanfen (卷粉), "rolled noodles". The county's cold version appears on the site as Anlong cold rice-sheet ribbons (安龙凉剪粉).

Wanfenghu town (万峰湖镇) on the Nanpan River (南盘江) preserves the Buyei "eight-tone seated singing" (八音坐唱) and old papermaking methods. Anlong Qian opera (安龙黔剧), Buyei martial arts, the Maoshanshu song festival (毛杉树歌节) and the Miao bench dance (苗族板凳舞) are on Guizhou's provincial intangible-heritage list.

Getting oriented

National Highway 324 crosses the county. The Kunming–Shantou Expressway (昆汕高速) has an exit at Muzan town (木咱镇), and the Nanning–Kunming Railway (南昆铁路) stops at Anlong Station (安龙站) in Dewo town (德卧镇).

Highlights

• Anlong Zhaodi 安龙招堤: Stone flood dike of 1694 with a lotus lake planted in 1848; a Guizhou provincial protected site.
• Record of the Banshan Pavilion 半山亭记: Text written by Zhang Zhidong at 11, carved on the rock wall of the pavilion on Jinxing Hill.
• Hall of the Eighteen Ming Scholars 明十八学士祠: Named by the county government among the relics of Anlong's Southern Ming period.
• Jianfen 剪粉: Rolled rice sheets cut with scissors; Anlong holds the title of China's home of jianfen.