Luanping County 滦平县

Setting and landscape

The county has the mountain climate of the Yanshan (燕山) range, with four distinct seasons, long winters and short summers. Four rivers cross it: the Chao (潮河), the Luan (滦河), the Yixun (伊逊河) and the Xingzhou (兴洲河). Forest covers more than 62 percent of the land, and the state has designated the county a water-conservation zone for the capital.

History

The county government dates human settlement here to 6,800 years ago. The Shanrong (山戎) people lived in the area for more than seven centuries, from the Shang and Zhou to the Warring States period, and in the Han dynasty it held Baitan County (白檀县). Luanping itself was formally made a county in 1778, the 43rd year of the Qianlong reign.

Under the Qing, emperors travelling between Beijing and their summer retreat at Chengde had to pass through. The county counts five imperial roads, eight travelling palaces, eight temples built by imperial order and four official post stations, and records 230 journeys through the area by the Kangxi, Qianlong, Jiaqing and Xianfeng emperors.

What to see

Jinshanling Great Wall (金山岭长城) was built under the Ming general Qi Jiguang (戚继光) while he commanded the Jizhen (蓟镇) garrison between 1567 and 1586; the county government notes its dense watchtowers and good state of preservation. It is part of the Great Wall World Heritage listing, a national key protected site and a national 5A scenic area, and hosts a marathon and an apricot-blossom festival.

Baicaowa National Forest Park (白草洼国家森林公园), a 4A scenic area in the southeast of the county, covers 5,396 hectares and is described by the county as holding the largest primary-secondary white birch forest in North China. Bixia Mountain (碧霞山) scenic area lies 9 km south of the county town, and Zhuanshan Lake (转山湖) scenic area in Fuyingzi (付营子镇) rises to a main peak of 1,577 metres.

Lunhua (抡花, "swinging flowers") is on the national intangible-heritage list (2014). On the 15th day of the first lunar month, performers swing wire cylinders packed with crushed cast-iron pot fragments and birch or cypress charcoal, throwing out showers of sparks. The national list traces it to the Liang family of Dadianzi village (大店子村) in Huodoushan (火斗山), who began it in the Kangxi era as an offering to the fire god.

Getting oriented

The Beijing–Chengde (京承), Zhangjiakou–Chengde (张承) and Chengde–Chifeng (承赤) expressways cross the county, as do the Beijing–Tongliao (京通) and Tangshan–Hohhot (唐呼) railways. Tianjin is 275 km away.

Highlights

• Jinshanling Great Wall 金山岭长城: Ming wall section built under Qi Jiguang between 1567 and 1586; national 5A scenic area and part of the World Heritage listing.
• Baicaowa National Forest Park 白草洼国家森林公园: 4A forest park of 5,396 hectares with what the county calls North China's largest primary-secondary white birch forest.
• Lunhua 抡花: Lantern Festival spark display with iron and charcoal, national intangible heritage since 2014.