Wenfeng District 文峰区

History

The walled city of Anyang was founded in 398 under the Northern Wei, and its present plan dates from a rebuilding early in the Ming Hongwu reign. After the Northern Zhou had Ye (邺城) burned in 580, the seats of Xiangzhou (相州), Wei commandery and Ye county were moved here, and the old city remained the seat of government for later dynasties. The wall had four gates: Yonghe (永和) to the east, Zhenyuan (镇远) to the south, Dading (大定) to the west and Gongchen (拱辰) to the north. The district took the name Wenfeng in November 1956, and in 1973 it was split into Wenfeng, Tiexi and Beiguan districts.

What to see

Wenfeng Pagoda (文峰塔), inside Tianning Temple (天宁寺) on the north side of Wenfeng South Road, was first built in 952 under the Later Zhou and stands 38.65 metres high. It is wider at the top than at the base, an umbrella shape the Anyang city government calls the only one of its kind in China, and it is a national key protected site. Gaoge Temple (高阁寺) on Mahao Street (马号街) is a double-eaved hall on a platform about 8 metres high, rebuilt in 1470; it was the last building of a shrine inside the residence of the Ming Prince of Zhao, Zhu Gaosui (朱高燧).

The Zhangde city god temple (彰德府城隍庙), founded in 580 and rebuilt in 1369, faces south across five courtyards and houses the Anyang folk art museum. On Dongnanying Street (东南营街) in the old city, the Temple of Lord Han (韩王庙) honours the Northern Song chief minister Han Qi (韩琦), and the adjoining Zhoujin Hall (昼锦堂), which he built while governing Xiangzhou, keeps a stele with a text by Ouyang Xiu (欧阳修) in the calligraphy of Cai Xiang (蔡襄).

Cangxiang Street (仓巷街), 528 metres long and named after the Zhangde granary, was listed in 2018 among Henan's first historic and cultural streets and keeps 57 courtyards from the Ming, Qing and Republic. North Street (北大街) and Wenfeng Middle Road (文峰中路) form Anyang's shopping centre.

Food and local products

The district government lists pizha (皮渣), blood cake (血糕), fenjiang fan (粉浆饭), five-spice bean porridge (五香豆沫), sanxun (三熏), sanbuzhan (三不沾), kiln-baked flatbread (缸炉烧饼) and bianfen cai (扁粉菜) among the old city's snacks, and mung-bean sheet noodles (绿豆粉皮) from the Quansheng Zheng family mill (全盛郑家粉坊) among its long-established shops.

Highlights

• Wenfeng Pagoda (Tianning Temple) 文峰塔与天宁寺: Umbrella-shaped pagoda of 952, 38.65 m high, wider at the top than the base; national key protected site.
• Gaoge Temple 高阁寺: Hall on an 8-metre platform, rebuilt in 1470, from the Ming Prince of Zhao's residence.
• Zhangde city god temple 彰德府城隍庙: Temple founded in 580 and rebuilt in 1369, with five courtyards; home of the Anyang folk art museum.
• Cangxiang Street 仓巷街: Old-city street with 57 Ming, Qing and Republican courtyards; a Henan historic and cultural street since 2018.