Zheng'an County 正安县

History

In the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods the area belonged to Bie (鄨), a state within greater Yelang. After the Ming pacified Bozhou (播州) in 1601, local chieftain rule gave way to a regular Zhen'an prefecture (真安州) under Zunyi, then part of Sichuan. Its seat moved in 1662 to the foot of Gufeng Mountain (古凤山), where the county town stands today. The name became Zheng'an in 1724, and in 1728 the prefecture passed with Zunyi to Guizhou; it became a county in 1914. Daozhen County (道真县) was carved out of its northeast in 1941. In the Guangxu reign a magistrate raised a stele reading "Gate Screen between Guizhou and Sichuan" (黔蜀门屏) at Shisunya (石笋娅).

Zheng'an is the home of Yin Zhen (尹珍), an Eastern Han Confucian scholar and teacher whom the county calls the founder of learning in the southwest. In AD 99 he left the hills of present-day Xinzhou (新州镇) to study in the Central Plains; the Wubentang hall (务本堂) in Xinzhou and his tomb are among the old sites the county highlights.

What to see

The county is karst country with well-developed caves. The county government points to the Jiudaoshui National Forest Park (九道水国家级森林公园), the 4A Taohuayuan Ji scenic area (桃花源记), long stretches of tung-tree blossom (百里桐花) and the Tianlou sea of clouds (天楼云海). The Banzhu Shangba tea farm (班竹上坝茶场) is described as an intact settlement of the "educated youth" sent to the countryside. Gelao Nuo opera, gunlong opera (滚龙戏) and dragon-lantern performances are still kept up.

Food and local products

In Xinzhou, guests are welcomed with oil tea (油茶), brewed from tea leaves and cooking oil. Zheng'an white tea (正安白茶) is noted for amino-acid content above 9 percent, and the county is also known for wild papaya (野木瓜), square bamboo shoots, tung trees and farmed giant salamander. Zheng'an has built a guitar industry that the county government calls the world's largest guitar production base, exporting to more than 40 countries and regions; it grew from workers who went to Guangdong and came back with skills and capital.

Getting oriented

Neighbours are Wuchuan (务川) to the east, Fenggang (凤冈) to the southeast, Meitan (湄潭) to the south, Suiyang (绥阳) to the southwest, Tongzi (桐梓) to the northwest, Daozhen to the northeast and Nanchuan (南川) to the north. Elevations range from 448 to 1,838 metres.

Highlights

• Wubentang 务本堂: Hall in Xinzhou tied to the Eastern Han scholar Yin Zhen.
• Jiudaoshui National Forest Park 九道水国家级森林公园: National forest park named by the county as a summer retreat.
• Taohuayuan Ji Scenic Area 桃花源记: The county's 4A scenic area.
• Zheng'an white tea 正安白茶: Tea noted for amino-acid content above 9 percent.
• Zheng'an guitars 正安吉他: Exported to more than 40 countries; billed by the county as the world's largest guitar production base.