Macun District 马村区

History

Mining, smelting, pottery and weaving flourished here in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Coal was dug from the Warring States onwards, on a large scale by Ming and Qing times, and it is still mined; the district government calls Macun the place where Jiaozuo's industrial civilisation began. Finds show bronze casting from the Spring and Autumn period, Shanyang (山阳) as one of the country's larger smelting centres under the Eastern Han, and Song-dynasty workshops making weapons and farm tools.

The Zhaozhanggong site (赵张弓遗址), 50 metres south-west of Zhaozhanggong village, is a rectangle of about 500 by 300 metres found in the 1976 survey of cultural relics and trial-dug in the winter of 1983. The modern district was set up on 3 October 1956, merged into a suburban district in 1957, re-created and dissolved again in 1958, and restored in February 1962.

What to see

Bailu Lake (白鹭湖) urban wetland park is a habitat for egrets, and a 15-kilometre landscaped belt follows the South–North Water Diversion canal (南水北调) through the urban area. Yinhe Road (银河路) is called "Ginkgo Avenue", the Hema Xianguo town (河马仙果小镇) grows a large collection of fruit and vegetable varieties, and the Confucius Wenli Garden (孔子问礼园) recalls the local tradition that Confucius asked about rites here.

Food and local products

The district government names three local foods: Macun braised chicken (马村烧鸡), with soft bones and tender meat; Anyangcheng mixed-flour noodles (安阳城杂面条); and the Yongxi casserole (永喜砂锅) of Daiwang (待王). Its folk arts include Fengying Huaibang (冯营怀邦), an art handed down for more than 300 years, the Yimen Huanggang dance (义门皇杠), spotted-glaze porcelain (花斑釉瓷), folded and forged "thousand-layer steel" (千层钢), Xiao Hongquan boxing (小洪拳) and suona playing. A women's choir here has sung the Book of Songs (诗经) unaccompanied for 27 years.

Highlights

• Bailu Lake Wetland Park 白鹭湖城市湿地公园: Urban wetland park and egret habitat.
• Zhaozhanggong site 赵张弓遗址: A 500 by 300 metre site found in 1976 and trial-excavated in 1983.
• Macun braised chicken 马村烧鸡: Braised chicken with soft bones and tender meat.
• Fengying Huaibang 冯营怀邦: Local art form handed down for more than 300 years.