Huailai County 怀来县

Setting and landscape

The Sanggan (桑干河) and Yang (洋河) rivers join inside the county to form the Yongding, which flows into the Guanting Reservoir (官厅水库), the first large reservoir built after 1949 and a reserve water source for Beijing. Mountains line the northern and southern edges: Dahaituo (大海陀山) and Yanran (燕然山) to the north, Jundu (军都山) to the south, with the highest point on Dahei Peak (大黑峰) at 1,978 metres. The county government calls the 35-square-kilometre Guanting Reservoir National Wetland Park (官厅水库国家湿地公园) the largest wetland park by planned area in North China, and points to Huailai's geothermal resources, which reach 80°C.

History

The county began as Juyang (沮阳) under the Qin; the site of old Juyang town is at Dagucheng (大古城). In 916 the Liao renamed the county from Huairong (怀戎) to Huailai. The reservoir reshaped the county: in 1951 the seat moved from the old town of Huailai to Shacheng (沙城), and the old town, more than 1,200 years old, was flooded along with nearly a quarter of the county's farmland. Tradition places the legendary Battle of Banquan (阪泉之战) between the Yellow Emperor and the Yan Emperor less than 30 li south of Shacheng. Huailai is the home county of the war hero Dong Cunrui (董存瑞), and the Battle of Xinbao'an (新保安战役) in the Pingjin Campaign was fought here.

What to see

Jimingyi Post Town (鸡鸣驿城) is a major national protected site, which the county government describes as the best-preserved and largest ancient relay station still standing. Other heritage named by the county includes stretches of the Warring States Yan wall, the Ming Great Wall section known as the Miaogang "model wall" (庙港样边), the Northern Wei Tianhuangshan Grottoes (天皇山石窟) and Xianzhong Shrine (显忠祠), which commemorates the soldiers killed in the Tumu Crisis (土木之变).

Food and local products

Wine-making came to Shacheng in 1941, when a Japanese-run company first made grape wine there; after 1980 Great Wall Wine and Beijing's Dragon Seal (龙徽) set up plants in the county. The brewing of Shacheng Laojiao liquor (沙城老窖) is on Hebei's provincial intangible heritage list. Local specialties include white "cow's milk" grapes (白牛奶葡萄) and red-eyed carp from Guanting Lake.

Getting oriented

Shacheng, in the middle of the county, is 87 kilometres from Zhangjiakou and 120 kilometres from central Beijing. The Beijing–Baotou, Fengtai–Shacheng and Datong–Qinhuangdao railways meet in the county, and the Beijing–Tibet Expressway crosses it.

Highlights

• Jimingyi Post Town 鸡鸣驿城: Major national protected site; described by the county as the best-preserved and largest ancient relay station.
• Guanting Reservoir National Wetland Park 官厅水库国家湿地公园: A 35-square-kilometre wetland park at the Guanting Reservoir, called by the county the largest by planned area in North China.
• Tianhuangshan Grottoes 天皇山石窟: Grottoes dating from the Northern Wei.
• Xianzhong Shrine 显忠祠: Memorial to the soldiers killed in the Tumu Crisis.
• Shacheng Laojiao liquor 沙城老窖: Its brewing technique is on Hebei's provincial intangible heritage list.