Bazhou 霸州市

Setting and landscape

The city has no mountains or hills; the land is low and flat, sloping from 11.1 metres above sea level in the northwest to 2.1 metres in the southeast, and one of its land zones is the Dongdian flood-detention area (东淀滞洪区). The climate is temperate continental, with a mean temperature of 12.9°C and about 489 millimetres of rain a year. Geothermal water of 40–80°C lies under the whole city and is drawn for heating and bathing.

History

In 959 the Later Zhou (后周) emperor Shizong (世宗) recaptured the Yijin Pass (益津关) from the Khitan and set up Bazhou prefecture there. A Song writer called it the key to the three passes. The Ming Jiajing edition of the Bazhou gazetteer records the Yinma Tunnel (引马洞), said to have been built by the Song general Yang Yanzhao (杨延昭); the 1990 county gazetteer describes it as a secret passage from the city to Xiongzhou (雄州) for surprise sorties against the Liao, long since blocked.

What to see

Shengfang Ancient Town (胜芳古镇), 35 kilometres east of the city, is a national 3A scenic area said to date back over 2,500 years. It shares a water system with Baiyangdian (白洋淀), lies east of it and so was called Dongdian, the "eastern lake". Its "three treasures" are an opera stage, a memorial archway and the Wenchang Pavilion (文昌阁), and Qing mansions of the Zhang, Wang and Yang families survive. The Shengfang lantern festival (胜芳灯会), national intangible heritage since 2008, includes river lanterns set on the water on the fifteenth night of the seventh lunar month and five days of lanterns from the 13th to the 18th of the first month. Its two thousand or so traditional lantern designs include a Zhu Bajie lantern with dozens of mouths that open and close. The Shengfang music society (胜芳音乐会), on the national list since 2006, plays Buddhist-derived sheng-and-pipe music and can still perform more than thirty tunes.

The Li Shaochun Memorial (李少春纪念馆), a 3A scenic area, combines an arts plaza, the former home of Li Guichun (李桂春) and a theatre building with exhibits on the Peking opera master Li Shaochun and a small classical stage. The Mangniu River Historical and Cultural Park (牤牛河历史文化园) runs for 15.3 kilometres along the river in the east of the city.

Getting oriented

Bazhou Station serves the Beijing–Kowloon and Tianjin–Bazhou railways, Bazhou West Station the Tianjin–Baoding railway, and Shengfang has its own station. The Rongcheng–Wuhai (荣乌) and Langfang–Cangzhou (廊沧) expressways pass through.

Highlights

• Shengfang Ancient Town 胜芳古镇: 3A scenic area 35 km east of the city, with an opera stage, archway, Wenchang Pavilion and Qing family mansions.
• Shengfang lantern festival 胜芳灯会: Mid-seventh-month river lanterns and a five-day Lantern Festival; national intangible heritage since 2008.
• Shengfang music society 胜芳音乐会: Sheng-and-pipe ensemble of Buddhist origin; national intangible heritage since 2006.
• Li Shaochun Memorial 李少春纪念馆: Museum, family home and theatre honouring the Peking opera master Li Shaochun.