Yunhe District 运河区

Setting and history

The district was created in March 1980. When the city's suburban district was abolished in October 1997, most of Nanchentun (南陈屯) and Xiaowangzhuang (小王庄) townships were moved into it. Qingchi Avenue (清池大道) marks its boundary with Xinhua District (新华区). The climate is warm-temperate and monsoonal, with 500 to 700 millimetres of rain a year.

In Cangzhou the canal is the South Canal (南运河), which crosses eight of the city's counties and districts over 216 kilometres. The stretch through central Cangzhou is well preserved and winds through many bends past old sites, and boats began running on the urban section again in September 2022.

What to see

Three towers stand less than 500 metres apart beside the canal: Qingfeng Tower (清风楼), Nanchuan Tower (南川楼) and Langyin Tower (朗吟楼). The last two are rebuilt landmarks inside Nanchuan Old Street (南川老街), which lies between Nanhu Lake (南湖) and the canal beside the old Nanchuan ferry. Nanchuan Tower was first built early in the Ming Jiajing reign as property of the Changlu salt administration (长芦盐运司); Langyin Tower is named after a poem attributed to Lü Dongbin (吕洞宾).

Hebei's list of provincial protected sites includes the Cangzhou Confucian Temple (沧州文庙) on Xiaoshi Street, dating from the Ming and Qing; the Zhengtai tea house (正泰茶庄) of 1914 just east of it; the Ming-era North Great Mosque (清真北大寺) on Jiefang Road; and the Ming tomb of Liu Tao (刘焘墓), a general who fought Japanese pirates. The district also holds the city museum and library, and parks such as Canal Park (运河公园), Nanhu Park (南湖公园), the Grand Canal Forest Park (大运河森林公园) and the Hundred Lions Garden (百狮园).

Food and local products

Local specialities served in Nanchuan Old Street include Dusheng steamed buns (杜生包子), hotpot chicken (火锅鸡) and donkey-meat flatbread sandwiches (驴肉火烧).

Getting oriented

The district lies 180 kilometres from Beijing and 110 kilometres from Tianjin. The Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway and the Shuozhou–Huanghua railway (朔黄铁路) have stations at the city, four expressways meet around it, and national highways 104 and 307 pass through.

Highlights

• Nanchuan Old Street 南川老街: Canal-side street between Nanhu Lake and the old Nanchuan ferry, with the rebuilt Nanchuan and Langyin towers.
• Qingfeng Tower 清风楼: One of the three canal-side towers standing less than 500 metres apart.
• Cangzhou Confucian Temple 沧州文庙: Ming and Qing temple on Xiaoshi Street, a Hebei provincial protected site.
• North Great Mosque 清真北大寺: Ming mosque on Jiefang Road, a Hebei provincial protected site.