Qing'an County 庆安县

Setting and landscape

The county government describes Qing'an as ringed by hills and fed by nine rivers, among them the Hulan River (呼兰河), and uses the saying "seven parts hills, one part water, two parts fields" (七山一水二分田). The Anbang (安帮河) and Yijimi (伊吉密河) rivers form its eastern border with Tieli (铁力). There are 25 state forest farms, and forest covers 65 percent of the county. Wild produce includes wood-ear fungus, monkey-head mushrooms, and more than 300 wild medicinal plants such as ginseng and schisandra (五味子).

Harbin (哈尔滨), the provincial capital, lies 170 kilometres to the west and Yichun (伊春) 178 kilometres to the east. The Hegang–Harbin Expressway (鹤哈高速) and the Harbin–Jiamusi Railway (哈佳铁路) cross the county.

History

Qing'an grew from a farming hamlet founded in the early Tongzhi reign (1860s) by Yu Qing (于清), a farmer from Shandong who settled here with his family; it was called Yuqing Wopu (于清窝堡), "Yu Qing's hamlet". In 1882 it became Yuqing Street, and in May 1885 a county was approved under a near-homophone, Yuqing (余庆), chosen for its sense of "lasting good fortune". The county took the name Qing'an in 1943. Much older remains include the Neolithic Yangyupo site (杨玉坡遗址), the Shirengou tomb group (石人沟墓葬群) and the Bronze Age Zhaoqin site (赵勤遗址).

What to see

The Liuhe May Seventh Cadre School (柳河五七干校) is described by the county government as the first school of its kind in China. It now lies within the Liuhe eco-tourism resort (柳河生态旅游度假区) together with a history museum on the school, Liuhe Forest Park (柳河森林公园) and Liuhe Reservoir (柳河水库). According to the Suihua Daily (绥化日报), work to restore the old school buildings was approved as a provincial heritage repair project for 2023.

The county also keeps sites from the anti-Japanese resistance: the site of the Northern Manchuria Provincial Committee of the Communist Party (中共北满省委遗址), the Hongshilazi massacre site (红石砬子惨案遗址) and the place where the resistance commander Xu Hengzhi (许亨植) was killed, in Dongshan village (东山村) of Daluo town (大罗镇). The county government counts its printmaking (版画) and flower-stick dance (花棍舞) among its intangible cultural heritage.

Food and local products

Qing'an farms the black soil of Heilongjiang's cold north and grows mainly rice, soybeans and maize. It is one of the province's counties with a million mu of rice fields, and carries the title "Home of Green Food in China" (中国绿色食品之乡).

Highlights

• Liuhe May Seventh Cadre School 柳河五七干校: Described by the Qing'an county government as China's first May Seventh cadre school; now part of the Liuhe eco-tourism resort with a history museum.
• Liuhe Forest Park 柳河森林公园: Forest park inside the Liuhe eco-tourism resort, alongside Liuhe Reservoir.
• Northern Manchuria Provincial Committee site 中共北满省委遗址: One of the anti-Japanese resistance sites the county has repaired and protected.
• Yangyupo site 杨玉坡遗址: Neolithic site in the county, listed by the county government among its historic remains.