Qianxi County 迁西县

Setting and landscape

Qianxi sits at the southern foot of the Yan Mountains (燕山). It has ten main rivers, including the Luan and the Chang River (长河), and 84 reservoirs, among them Panjiakou (潘家口) and Daheiting (大黑汀). The county government also claims rocks here dated to 3.67 billion years. It is 150 kilometres east of Beijing and 75 kilometres from Tangshan city.

History

Neolithic finds at Xizhai (西寨) and nearby sites show settlement five to six thousand years ago. The county itself is young: it was split from the western part of Qian'an County (迁安县) in 1946, hence the name "West of Qian", and formally set up in April 1947. It was abolished in 1958 and restored in 1961.

In the Ming, Santunying (三屯营), 13 kilometres northwest of the county seat, was the headquarters of the Jizhen (蓟镇) frontier command; Qi Jiguang (戚继光) rebuilt the walled town in 1574–1577 and guarded this frontier for 16 years. During the war against Japan, the generals Song Zheyuan (宋哲元) and Zhang Zizhong (张自忠) fought Japanese troops at Xifengkou (喜峰口), a stand that made the "Big Sword March" (大刀进行曲) famous across China.

What to see

The county holds 106 kilometres of Ming Great Wall, with 203 watchtowers and ten passes. The Qingshanguan (青山关) and Xifengkou sections are on the first national list of key Great Wall sites. Qingshanguan is a 4A scenic area in Qingshankou village (青山口村), Tangshan's northernmost village, 50 kilometres from the county seat. The county describes its lifting water gate as the best preserved on the Great Wall, and the site includes a walled Great Wall fort.

Panjiakou Reservoir, on the border with Chengde's Kuancheng (宽城) and Xinglong (兴隆) counties, is the main work of the scheme that carries Luan water to Tianjin; it reaches 80 metres deep, and part of the Great Wall near Xifengkou now lies under water. Jingzhong Mountain (景忠山), a 4A scenic area, holds a Qing imperial temple listed as a provincial protected site; 1,872 stone steps climb to the summit, and the Kangxi Emperor inscribed it "a famous mountain under heaven" (天下名山).

Food and local products

Liule huoshao (刘乐火勺), a Tangshan municipal heritage item from Santunying, is a small baked flatbread said to descend from field rations for Qi Jiguang's soldiers. Naturally fermented dough has a special ingredient, youshu (油酥, literally "oil crisp"), kneaded into it and is baked on iron plates in an oven until golden, layered and crisp.

Highlights

• Qingshanguan 青山关: 4A Great Wall pass with a lifting water gate and fort, in Tangshan's northernmost village.
• Panjiakou Reservoir 潘家口水库: Main reservoir of the Luan-to-Tianjin water scheme, with a submerged stretch of Great Wall.
• Jingzhong Mountain 景忠山: 4A scenic area with a Qing imperial temple and 1,872 stone steps to the top.
• Santunying 三屯营: Ming headquarters of the Jizhen frontier command, rebuilt by Qi Jiguang in 1574–1577.
• Liule huoshao 刘乐火勺: Layered, crisp baked flatbread from Santunying on the Tangshan municipal heritage list.