Fengfeng Mining District 峰峰矿区

History

Fengfeng was set up as a district in 1950, came directly under Hebei in 1952, became Fengfeng City in 1955 and returned to district status under Handan in 1956. Coal, porcelain clay and bauxite are among nearly 30 minerals proven here and judged worth mining. The district has 32 protected heritage sites, four of them national: the Xiangtangshan Caves, the Cizhou kiln sites (磁州窑遗址), the Jade Emperor Pavilion at Zhifang (纸坊玉皇阁) and the Shuiyu Temple caves (水浴寺石窟). Provincial sites include Song-dynasty tunnels and the Shandi anti-Japanese tunnel site (山底抗日地道遗址).

What to see

The Xiangtangshan Caves (响堂山石窟), about 20 km south-west of Handan city in the Taihang Mountains (太行山), number 36, in a northern group on Mount Gu (鼓山) near Hecun (和村), a southern group, South Xiangtang (南响堂), on Mount Fu, and a site at Shuiyusi. Wikipedia records that the northern caves were commissioned by Emperor Wenxuan, the first Northern Qi ruler, and that the southern group was begun in 565 by the monk Huiyi. Many sculptures were removed from 1909 onwards and are now in museums such as the Freer Gallery and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The State Council listed the caves as a national key site in 1961. The North Xiangtang scenic area also has a Song octagonal nine-storey brick pagoda; South Xiangtang, a 4A scenic area, has a museum of cave art and the Fukou covered bridge (滏口廊桥).

The Cizhou Kiln Art Quarter (磁州窑艺术街区) in the old town of Pengcheng (彭城) was the historic centre of Cizhou production. Old kiln sites, workshops, kiln caves and walls built of saggars line the street, and the Dongge (东阁), the landmark of old Pengcheng first built in the Ming, was rebuilt in 2016. The district has also built a Cizhou kiln history museum and museums at the Yandian (盐店) and Futian (富田) kiln sites.

At Jincun village (金村), the Fuheyuan scenic area (滏河源景区) marks the spring source of the Fuyang River (滏阳河), with a Jade Emperor Temple founded in the early Yuan and an opera stage built opposite it in 1879.

Crafts and festivals

The firing technique of Cizhou ware and the Wangkan reed-lantern maze (王看苇子灯阵) are on the national intangible heritage list, and the lantern maze is included in UNESCO's inscription of the Spring Festival.

Highlights

• Xiangtangshan Caves 响堂山石窟: 36 Northern Qi Buddhist caves in three groups; national key protected site since 1961.
• Cizhou Kiln Art Quarter 磁州窑艺术街区: Old kiln street in Pengcheng with kilns, workshops, saggar walls and the rebuilt Dongge.
• Fuheyuan scenic area 滏河源景区: Spring source of the Fuyang River at Jincun, with an early-Yuan temple and an 1879 opera stage.
• Wangkan reed-lantern maze 王看苇子灯阵: National intangible heritage item, included in UNESCO's Spring Festival inscription.