Tangyin County 汤阴县

What to see

The Yue Fei Temple (岳飞庙), first called the Jingzhong Temple (精忠庙), stands on Yuemiao Street (岳庙街) in the county town. The present temple was rebuilt in 1450 and extended under the Qing; its halls include a shrine to Yue Fei's mother tattooing her son (岳母刺字祠). Yue Fei's former residence (岳飞故宅) at Chenggang village (程岗村) in Caiyuan (菜园镇) marks his birthplace; he was born in 1103 and put to death on false charges in 1142. The mid-Ming house has been a provincial protected site since 2000.

Youli (羑里城), on Wenwang Road (文王路), is a site with layers from the Longshan culture to the Shang and Zhou, traditionally where the Shang king Zhou held Ji Chang (姬昌), the future King Wen. The Anyang city government calls it the first state prison in China's written records; Ming buildings survive there. Both Youli and the Yue Fei Temple are national key protected sites.

The Bian Que Temple (扁鹊庙), a provincial protected site at Fudao (伏道镇) 8 kilometres east of the county town, holds the tomb of the Warring States physician. The county government cites the Records of the Grand Historian (史记): Li Xi (李醯), court physician of Qin, envied Bian Que and had him murdered at Fudao. The shrine has eleven murals of his life, the burial mound stands 2 metres high, and a temple fair falls on the fifteenth day of the third lunar month. The Tanghe National Wetland Park (汤河国家湿地公园), Anyang's first national wetland park, is a wintering ground for migratory birds.

History

The old name Dangyin (荡阴) meant south of the Dang River (荡水) and appears after 350 BC; Dang and Tang were once one character. A county was set up in 205 BC under the Han founder Gaozu, and the name Tangyin was fixed in 627. In 1957 twelve townships went to the new city of Hebi (鹤壁市), and in November 1983 the county came under Anyang city.

Food and local products

Mugwort grows around the Bian Que Temple, and Tangyin Bei'ai (汤阴北艾) became a geographical-indication product in 2019. Paoweizi (跑帷子), a large dance traced to Duke Huan of Qi's (齐桓公) rites for a woman of Wei, is on the national intangible heritage list, and papercutting has earned the county the title of a home of Chinese folk art.

Getting oriented

The Beijing–Guangzhou railway, the Beijing–Hong Kong high-speed railway, the Beijing–Hong Kong–Macau Expressway and National Road 107 run through the county.

Highlights

• Yue Fei Temple 岳飞庙: Temple to Yue Fei on Yuemiao Street, rebuilt in 1450; national key protected site.
• Youli 羑里城: Longshan-to-Zhou site where tradition says King Wen was held by the Shang; national key protected site with Ming buildings.
• Bian Que Temple 扁鹊庙: Tomb and temple of the physician Bian Que at Fudao, 8 km east of the county town; provincial protected site.
• Yue Fei's former residence 岳飞故宅: Mid-Ming house at Yue Fei's birthplace in Chenggang village; provincial protected site since 2000.