Cangzhou 沧州市

Setting and landscape

The prefecture lies in the Heilonggang (黑龙港) basin and has 92 kilometres of natural coastline. The Southern Canal (南运河), part of the Grand Canal, flows 216 kilometres through eight of its counties and districts, and the city tourism bureau notes that the winding stretch through the city centre survives well preserved.

History

Under the Han the area belonged to the Bohai Commandery (渤海郡) and the Hejian Kingdom (河间国). A prefecture named Cangzhou was set up in 517 at Rao'an (饶安), in today's Yanshan (盐山), and the present city took shape when prefecture and city merged in 1993. The Iron Lion of Cangzhou (沧州铁狮子), also called Zhenhaihou (镇海吼, 'sea-quelling roar'), was cast in 953 and stands in the old city of Cang County (沧县) at Jiuzhou (旧州镇); it was among the first national key heritage sites, and the city government calls it the oldest and largest cast-iron artwork surviving in China.

Cangzhou martial arts (沧州武术) joined the national intangible-heritage list in 2006; the listing counts 53 boxing styles here, among them Baji (八极) and Pigua (劈挂), and 1,937 military-examination graduates in the Ming and Qing. Wuqiao County (吴桥), listed the same year for acrobatics, is famed in the saying that nine of ten acrobats hail from Wuqiao. Villages in Hejian (河间), home of the Mao text of the Book of Songs (诗经), still chant its poems.

What to see

Along the canal the city tourism bureau points to the Xiejiaba dam at Lianzhen (连镇谢家坝), built of rammed earth bound with glutinous rice, the old ferry at Botou (泊头), Nanchuan Old Street (南川老街) and the Machang fort (马厂炮台) in Qing County (青县). Night boat trips on the canal pass the Qingfeng (清风楼), Langyin (朗吟楼) and Nanchuan (南川楼) towers. Wuqiao Acrobatic World (吴桥杂技大世界) stages acrobatic shows, and a copy of the Iron Lion, 1.32 times its volume, was cast in 2010 for Lion City Park (狮城公园).

Food and local products

Hejian is one of the two main schools of donkey-meat huoshao (驴肉火烧): a hot rectangular flatbread filled with cold sliced or chopped sauce-braised donkey meat, sometimes with menzi (焖子), a jelly set from the cooking broth, donkey fat and starch, and chopped green pepper. Nanchuan Old Street hosts a hotpot-chicken (火锅鸡) festival.

Getting oriented

The city centre is 120 kilometres from Tianjin and 240 from Beijing. The Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway through the prefecture opened in June 2011, and Huanghua Port (黄骅港) on the coast opened in 2002.

Highlights

• Iron Lion of Cangzhou 沧州铁狮子: Cast in 953 and standing in the old city of Cang County; among the first national key heritage sites.
• Cangzhou Grand Canal 沧州大运河: The Southern Canal runs 216 km through eight counties and districts, with a winding, well-preserved city stretch.
• Wu Qiao Za Ji Da Shi Jie 吴桥杂技大世界: Venue for acrobatic shows, including a night acrobatics theatre; Wuqiao acrobatics are on the national intangible-heritage list.
• He Jian Lv Rou Huo Shao 河间驴肉火烧: Hot rectangular flatbread with cold sauce-braised donkey meat, sometimes with menzi jelly and green pepper.
• Cang Zhou Huo Guo Ji 沧州火锅鸡: Hotpot chicken, celebrated with a festival on Nanchuan Old Street.