Tangxian 唐县

Setting and landscape

The county forms an irregular long strip that slopes gently from northwest to southeast, from 1,869.8 metres down to 52 metres; it is described as seven parts mountain, one part water and two parts fields. The Tang River (唐河), which rises in Hunyuan (浑源) in Shanxi, enters at Daomaguan (倒马关) and runs 109 kilometres through the county before leaving for Baiyangdian (白洋淀); the river's course is called the "Hundred-li Gallery". The Tongtian River (通天河) rises on Damao Mountain (大茂山), the ancient Northern Mount Heng. Xidayang Reservoir (西大洋水库), begun in 1958 and one of Hebei's four major reservoirs, supplies drinking water to Baoding and was named an emergency water source for Beijing in 2004.

History

People lived here six to seven thousand years ago in the Yangshao culture. The county was set up in the early Western Han and named after the old Tang marquisate linked with Yao; in the Five Dynasties it was renamed Zhongshan and Boling. Among the county's notable people is the Yuan astronomer Wang Xun (王恂), who worked with Guo Shoujing (郭守敬) on the Shoushi calendar (授时历).

During the war against Japan the county was the seat of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region (晋察冀军区), and the county government records that it fed 50,000 Eighth Route Army troops. Bethune and Dwarkanath Kotnis (柯棣华), both honoured by the county as internationalist fighters, worked here and died in service. Tangxian was merged with Wangdu (望都) in 1958 and separated again in 1962.

What to see

Three sites are under national protection: the cliff carvings at Wofo Temple (卧佛寺摩崖造像), the Ming Great Wall at Daomaguan (倒马关明长城) and the Beifangshui site (北放水遗址). Provincial sites include the Jin-Cha-Ji Martyrs' Cemetery (晋察冀烈士陵园), the place where Bethune died, and the former Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region headquarters at Hejiazhuang (和家庄). The Tanpu Gorge (潭瀑峡) is the county's 4A scenic area, and the Bethune and Kotnis Memorial Hall (白求恩柯棣华纪念馆) is one of its four 3A scenic areas.

Highlights

• Bethune and Kotnis Memorial Hall 白求恩柯棣华纪念馆: 3A scenic area remembering Bethune and Kotnis, who worked and died in the county.
• Daomaguan Ming Great Wall 倒马关明长城: National key protected site at Daomaguan, where the Tang River enters the county.
• Wofo Temple cliff carvings 卧佛寺摩崖造像: National key protected site.
• Tanpu Gorge 潭瀑峡: The county's 4A scenic area.