Julu County 巨鹿县

History

The county government traces the name to the ancient Dalu (大陆, also written 大麓), called after the Dalu marsh (大陆泽). It says Lü Buwei (吕不韦) wrote Dalu as Julu in the Lüshi Chunqiu (吕氏春秋) during the Warring States period, and that Julu was one of the 36 commanderies set up by the Qin.

In the twelfth month of 207 BC Xiang Yu (项羽) destroyed the main Qin army below the walls of Julu, a decisive battle in the war that ended the Qin. The county also lists the Yellow Turban rising among the events that took place here, and counts the Tang chancellor Wei Zheng (魏徵) and the astronomer monk Yixing (一行) among its natives.

What to see

The Julu old town site (巨鹿故城遗址), also called the "Julu Song town" (巨鹿宋城), was the county seat under the Tang and Song. Founded in 685, it lies south-west of the present county town and is the county's only provincial protected site. On the fourth day of the eighth month of 1108 the Yellow River broke its banks and buried the town under about two zhang of silt; only part of the Sanming Temple (三明寺) stayed above the water. Liang Qichao (梁启超) called it "the Pompeii of the East".

People digging wells found the town and large amounts of porcelain in 1918. The county government says the National History Museum's dig of July 1921, especially at the Sanming Temple, is regarded by scholars as the start of urban archaeology in China. The world's only three surviving Song printing blocks came out of the site in 1919: one is in the New York Public Library and two in the Museum of Chinese History. Song wooden tables and chairs from the site are in the Nanjing Museum (南京博物院).

Food and local products

Julu is known as "China's home of honeysuckle" (金银花), and the county government describes it as the country's largest growing area and trading centre for the flower. Chinese Wikipedia also lists goji berries (枸杞), Chuanzhihong apricots (串枝红杏) and hard white wheat as local products.

Getting oriented

Two provincial roads cross the county, the Dingwei road (定魏线) running north–south and the Xingde road (邢德线) east–west, and the Xingtai–Hengshui Expressway (邢衡高速) also crosses from east to west. The Xingtai–Huanghua Railway (邢黄铁路), opened in December 2013, has a Julu station, and National Highway 230 passes through.

Highlights

• Julu old town site 巨鹿故城遗址: Tang–Song county town founded in 685 and buried by a Yellow River flood in 1108; provincial protected site.
• Sanming Temple 三明寺: Part of it stayed above the 1108 flood; its excavation in 1921 is regarded as the start of urban archaeology in China.
• Julu honeysuckle 金银花: Julu is called China's home of honeysuckle and its largest growing area and trading centre.