Tongren City 铜仁市

Setting and landscape

The Yuan (沅江) and Wu (乌江) river systems drain the prefecture. Fanjingshan, the main peak of the Wuling range, rises where Yinjiang (印江县), Jiangkou (江口县) and Songtao (松桃县) counties meet, reaching 2,572 metres at Fenghuang Mountain (凤凰山); it was inscribed as World Natural Heritage in July 2018. Its forests shelter the Guizhou snub-nosed monkey (黔金丝猴) and the dove tree (珙桐).

History

The city traces its name to Tongren (铜人), "bronze men": in the Yuan a fisherman is said to have brought up three bronze figures from the river at Tongyan (铜岩). In 1413 the Ming abolished the Sizhou and Sinan pacification commissions and set up Tongren, Sinan, Shiqian and Wuluo prefectures under the new Guizhou administration, merging most of Wuluo into Tongren in 1438. Tongren became a prefecture-level city in 2011. Songtao Miao embroidery (松桃苗绣), Tujia folk songs and Yuping flute making (玉屏箫笛制作技艺) are among its national intangible-heritage items.

What to see

On Fanjingshan the Mushroom Stone (蘑菇石) and the Red Clouds Golden Summit (红云金顶) are the landmark rock forms, and since the Tang the mountain has been a Buddhist site devoted to Maitreya, with temples such as Cheng'en Temple (承恩寺). In the city, the Zhongnanmen quarter (中南门历史文化旅游区), seat of Tongren prefecture from 1413, stands where three rivers meet and keeps its layout of nine gates, three streets and six lanes, with old wharves, a Confucian temple and Dongshan Temple (东山寺). The Shiqian ancient hot spring (石阡古温泉) dates to 1606; the municipal tourism account describes its mineral spring water as remaining at 45°C.

Food and local products

In Jiangkou, families make she fan (社饭) on the spring she day, near the equinox, to honour their ancestors: rice cooked with wild wormwood greens, cured pork, walnuts and peanuts, shared among friends and neighbours. Fanjingshan tea and Shiqian moss tea (石阡苔茶) are local teas.

Getting oriented

The city's September 2026 overview lists Tongren Fenghuang Airport (铜仁凤凰机场), the Qianbei airport at Dejiang (德江), the Shanghai–Kunming high-speed railway and the Chongqing–Huaihua railway. It has two districts and eight counties.

Highlights

• Fanjingshan 梵净山: Main peak of the Wuling range, 2,572 m at Fenghuang Mountain; World Natural Heritage since 2018 and a Maitreya Buddhist site since the Tang.
• Zhongnanmen old town 中南门历史文化旅游区: Seat of Tongren prefecture from 1413, with nine gates, three streets, six lanes and old wharves where three rivers meet.
• Shiqian ancient hot spring 石阡古温泉: Historic spring dating to 1606, described by the municipal tourism account as having water at 45°C.
• Songtao Miao embroidery 松桃苗绣: One of Tongren's national intangible-heritage items.
• She fan 社饭: Jiangkou spring dish of rice with wormwood greens, cured pork, walnuts and peanuts, made to honour ancestors.
• Shiqian moss tea 石阡苔茶: Local tea named alongside Fanjingshan tea in the city's overview.