Yichuan County 伊川县

Setting and landscape

The county government sums up the terrain as "one part mountain, two parts river plain, seven parts ridge" (一山二川七分岭). The highest point is the main peak of Mount Wan'an (万安山) at 937.3 metres. More than twenty rivers, among them the Yi, the Baijiang (白降河) and the Dukang (杜康河), drain partly to the Yi-Luo system of the Yellow River and partly to the Beiru River (北汝河) in the Huai basin. The Yi runs 41.3 kilometres through the county, and the county has built the Yi River National Wetland Park (伊河国家湿地公园), covering 1,384.36 hectares.

History

Old names for the area include Yi State (伊国) and Yique (伊阙), and a Yichuan County first appeared under the Sui. The present county was formed in 1932 by merging the counties of Pingdeng (平等, "Equality") and Ziyou (自由, "Freedom"). It is named after the Yi River and after the tomb of the Song Neo-Confucian thinker Cheng Yi (程颐), whose literary name was Yichuan. The county counts 110 ancient cultural sites; the Cheng brothers' tombs, the tomb of Fan Zhongyan (范仲淹) and the Tumen site (土门遗址) are national key protected sites.

What to see

The Er Cheng Cultural Park (二程文化园), on Ercheng Avenue (二程大道), is a national key protected site and 4A scenic area honouring Cheng Hao (程颢, 1032–1085) and Cheng Yi (1033–1107), founders of Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism. It is laid out in three parts: an academy area, the Cheng temple and the Cheng family cemetery.

Fan Zhongyan's tomb (范仲淹墓), in the Fan Garden (范园) 1.5 kilometres north of Xuying village (许营村) in Pengpo town (彭婆镇), has Mount Wan'an to its north and 472 old cypresses. The front precinct holds the mounds of the Northern Song statesman, his mother and his eldest son; the tombs of his other sons lie in a rear precinct 350 metres to the north. It became a national key protected site in 2006.

The Xuyang cemetery (徐阳墓地), on terraces along the Shunyang River (顺阳河), has been excavated since 2013. Its chariot pits hold horse, cattle and sheep heads and hooves, and the excavators attribute the main remains to the Luhun Rong (陆浑戎), a Rong people who moved to Yichuan in the Eastern Zhou; it is the first Rong site found in the Central Plains.

Food and local products

The county calls itself the home of Dukang (杜康故里), and Yichuan Dukang liquor (伊川杜康酒) is a national geographical-indication product. The claim is contested: Ruyang County (汝阳县) in Luoyang and Baishui County (白水县) in Shaanxi also make Dukang liquor and claim its origin.

Highlights

• Er Cheng Cultural Park 二程文化园: National key protected site and 4A scenic area honouring the Neo-Confucian brothers Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi.
• Fan Zhongyan's tomb 范仲淹墓: Family cemetery of the Northern Song statesman among 472 old cypresses; national key protected site since 2006.
• Xuyang cemetery 徐阳墓地: Eastern Zhou cemetery of the Luhun Rong, the first Rong site found in the Central Plains.
• Yi River National Wetland Park 伊河国家湿地公园: National wetland park of 1,384.36 hectares named after the Yi River.
• Yichuan Dukang liquor 伊川杜康酒: National geographical-indication product.