Bozhou District 播州区

History

In the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods local people founded the small state of Bie (鳖国) here. In 639 the Tang set up Bozhou prefecture (播州), the first time the name appears in the histories, and in 642 its Luomeng County was renamed Zunyi, the origin of the Zunyi name. According to the district government, most people trace it to a line in the Book of Documents about following the righteous way of the former kings.

From the late Tang the Yang family (杨氏) held Bozhou for centuries. In 1600 the Ming defeated Yang Yinglong (杨应龙), ended hereditary rule, and split the territory, putting Zunyi prefecture under Sichuan; Zunyi County passed to Guizhou in 1728. In 1954 the county government moved from Zunyi city to Nanbai town (南白镇).

What to see

The Gouba Meeting Site (苟坝会议旧址), linked to 1935, is a national key cultural relics protection unit, as is the Qing-dynasty Chen Yubi Ancestral Hall (尚稽陈玉璧祠) at Shangji (尚嵇镇). Provincially listed sites include the Chashanguan (茶山关) site where the Red Army forced a crossing of the Wujiang (乌江) in 1935, the Ming–Qing Wachang Temple (瓦厂寺) at Longping (龙坪镇) and a Qing brick pagoda on Baofeng Mountain (宝峰山). Wujiang town (乌江镇) has three listed modern structures: a railway bridge of 1965, a road bridge of 1972 and a power station of 1983.

For leisure the district government points to the Wujiang Village international tourism resort (乌江寨国际旅游度假区), the Fengxiang hot springs (枫香温泉) and the Boya wetland (播雅湿地).

Setting and local products

The land lies at 850 to 1,100 m. The climate is a humid mid-subtropical monsoon climate, with an average of 15.2°C, 311 frost-free days a year and no severe winter cold or summer heat. The district is known as the "granary of northern Guizhou" (黔北粮仓), has been named one of China's top ten chilli-growing counties, and makes liquor at Yaxi (鸭溪).

Getting oriented

The Chongqing–Guiyang and Sichuan–Guizhou railways cross the district, as do the Lanzhou–Haikou and Hangzhou–Ruili expressways and national roads G210 and G326. The Wujiang is navigable from here to the Yangtze, and Zunyi and Moutai airports serve the area.

Highlights

• Gouba Meeting Site 苟坝会议旧址: 1935 site listed as a national key cultural relics protection unit.
• Chen Yubi Ancestral Hall 尚稽陈玉璧祠: Qing-dynasty hall at Shangji, a national key protected site.
• Wujiang Village 乌江寨: International tourism resort named by the district government as a leisure destination.
• Chashanguan Red Army crossing site 遵义茶山关红军抢渡乌江遗址: Site of the Red Army's forced crossing of the Wujiang in 1935, provincially listed.