Wolong District 卧龙区

Setting and landscape

The Bai River (白河) curves past Wolonggang, and the district counts 17 rivers and 31 small and medium reservoirs. Dushan (独山), a 367.8-metre hill in the northeast of Nanyang with the Bai River to its east, is almost wholly forested and is a national mine park. Guanshan (观山) carries a twenty-li (about 10-kilometre) stretch of the Chu Great Wall (楚长城).

History

The district government presents the Huangshan site (黄山遗址) as a settlement of the Yellow Emperor's era some 5,000 years ago. It also names the area as the seat of the ancient state of Lü (吕国) and the home of Jiang Ziya (姜子牙), and says that Baili Xi (百里奚), the "five-ram minister", was born here and is buried in Bailixi village on Wolonggang. The scientist Zhang Heng (张衡) also came from here. Zishan (紫山) holds the tombs of Zhu Jing (朱桱), a son of the first Ming emperor, and his descendants, the princes of Tang.

What to see

The Wuhou Shrine (武侯祠) on Wolonggang, in the western outskirts of Nanyang, marks the place where Zhuge Liang farmed and the setting of the story of the "three visits to the thatched cottage" (三顾茅庐); it has been a national key cultural relic since 1996. The Nanyang Han Painting Museum (南阳汉画馆), built into the slope at the head of the ridge, holds more than 2,000 Han-dynasty carved stone reliefs, grouped into ten themes that include astronomy, acrobatics, wrestling, daily life, history and myth.

The Zhang Heng Museum (张衡博物馆) at Xiaoshiqiao village in Shiqiao Town (石桥镇) is Zhang Heng's tomb, a national protected site: an earth mound about 8 metres high behind a Han-style hall, with sculptures of his armillary sphere and seismograph on either side and a 1956 inscription by Guo Moruo (郭沫若) praising him. On Dushan's southern slope, a jade culture square and museum show the old stages of finding, cutting and carving jade in 18 life-size figures.

Food and local products

Dushan is the source of Dushan jade (独玉), which the district calls one of China's four famous jades, and of Dushan Maofeng tea (独山毛峰). Chinese roses (月季) are another local product: the China Rose Expo Garden (中国月季博览园) lies at the foot of Dushan, and Shiqiao Town is where Nanyang's rose industry began.

Highlights

• Wuhou Shrine at Wolonggang 卧龙岗武侯祠: Shrine on the ridge where Zhuge Liang farmed; national key cultural relic since 1996.
• Nanyang Han Painting Museum 南阳汉画馆: More than 2,000 Han carved stone reliefs in ten thematic groups.
• Zhang Heng Museum 张衡博物馆: Tomb of the scientist Zhang Heng at Shiqiao, with sculptures of his armillary sphere and seismograph.
• Dushan 独山: Forested hill on the Bai River, source of Dushan jade and Dushan Maofeng tea.