Laishui County 涞水县

Setting and landscape

The county is long and narrow and drops in steps from north-west to south-east: mountains of the north-eastern Taihang range cover about three-quarters of its area, then hills at around 100 metres above sea level, then the Juma River alluvial plain at about 30 metres. The highest point is Baicaopan (白草畔) at 1,983 metres.

The Juma River, part of the Daqing River (大清河) system of the Hai River basin, rises in neighbouring Laiyuan and runs 110 km through the county in two stretches. The upper one leaves at Sanpo town (三坡镇); the lower one splits at Tiesuoya (铁锁崖) into the South Juma, flowing on into Dingxing, and the North Juma, flowing into Zhuozhou.

History

The county government dates the name Qiu County (逎县) to the sixth year of the Han founder Gaozu (201 BC); the Northern Wei changed the character to a variant form, and the name Laishui dates from 598 under the Sui. In spring 1938 the anti-Japanese government of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region (晋察冀边区) split off the mountain part as Laizhuo County (涞涿县), and in September 1940 the Sanpo area was moved from Zhuo County into Laishui. The county was abolished in 1958, divided between Zhuo County and Yi County, and restored in January 1962.

What to see

Yesanpo was rated a national 5A scenic area in 2010 and is also a national scenic area and a World Geopark. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism describes it as covering 700 square kilometres astride the northern end of the Zijingguan deep fault zone (紫荆关深断裂带), where tectonic and magmatic activity left varied geological features. Mostly karst terrain along both banks of the Juma River, it joined Shidu (十渡) in Beijing and Baishishan (白石山) in 2006 to form the Fangshan World Geopark.

Its zones include the gorges of Bailixia (百里峡), a summer resort area along the Juma River, the Baicaopan primeval forest reserve, the springs and caves of Fodongta (佛洞塔) and the Longmen Gorge (龙门峡) area with Great Wall relics. The ministry names Bailixia, the Yugudong spring (鱼谷洞泉) and the Longmen Tianguan pass (龙门天关) among the main sights.

Getting oriented

Laishui meets Zhuozhou and Gaobeidian to the east and Beijing's Mentougou and Fangshan districts to the north. The county government puts it 90 km from central Beijing, 170 km from central Tianjin and 75 km from central Baoding. The Zhangjiakou-Shijiazhuang, Zhangjiakou-Zhuozhou and Beijing-Kunming expressways and the Beijing-Yuanping railway (京原铁路) cross the county.

Highlights

• Yesanpo 野三坡: National 5A scenic area since 2010 and part of the Fangshan World Geopark, mostly karst terrain along the Juma River.
• Bailixia 百里峡: Gorge zone of Yesanpo, named by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism among the area's main sights.
• Baicaopan 白草畔: The county's highest point at 1,983 metres, with a primeval forest reserve in the Yesanpo area.
• Juma River 拒马河: Runs 110 km through the county and splits into the South and North Juma at Tiesuoya.