Yongcheng 永城市

What to see

The Mangdang Mountain Han Culture Tourism Area (芒砀山汉文化旅游区) was rated a national 5A scenic area in 2017. Its 12 square kilometres hold the cliff where Confucius is said to have sheltered from rain and dried his books, the grave mound of the rebel leader Chen Sheng (陈胜), a monument to Liu Bang's snake-slaying uprising, and the tombs of the Western Han princes of Liang. Starting with Prince Xiao of Liang, Liu Wu (刘武), nine princes over eight generations cut underground tombs into the hills. The tomb of Prince Xiao's queen is 210 metres long, and the city government lists it as the largest stone-chamber tomb found in China. Finds from the tombs include murals, a jade suit sewn with gold thread and gilt chariot fittings.

On the south slope of Fuzi Hill (夫子山), 35 kilometres north-east of the city in Mangshan town (芒山镇), the Mangdang Mountain Confucian Temple (芒砀山文庙) is a late-Qing group facing south; its main hall is five bays wide, and four eight-sided stone columns carry the porch.

In the north-east corner of the old town, inside the martyrs' cemetery, the Chongfa Temple Pagoda (崇法寺塔) is all that remains of its temple. The octagonal brick pagoda of nine storeys, 34.6 metres tall, imitates timber construction and was begun in 1093 and finished in 1098, under the Song.

The Huaihai Campaign Chenguanzhuang Martyrs' Cemetery (淮海战役陈官庄地区歼灭战烈士陵园) dates from 1963 and holds a 24.6-metre memorial and a museum of the campaign's battle at Chenguanzhuang. At Mazhongji (麻冢集), 30 kilometres south-west of the city, is the site of the Fourth Branch of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political College (抗大四分校), formed in 1940 with Peng Xuefeng (彭雪枫) as its head.

Riyue Lake (日月湖), between the old and new towns, was created by rehabilitating land that sank over coal mining; it is a national 4A scenic area.

Food and local products

Xuehu beef pan-fried buns (薛湖牛肉水煎包) are filled with beef, sweet-potato noodles, greens and eighteen herbs and fried on a flat steel pan so the filling shows at the top and the base turns crisp. The city also names Mangshan braised goat head (芒山卤羊头), Longgang braised chicken (龙岗烧鸡), a honey-glazed rooster simmered for three hours, and Zancheng preserved fish (酂城糟鱼), crucian carp fried then stewed in a sealed clay pot for three hours until the bones soften. Dried jujubes from Fengzhuang village (丰庄枣干) were sent as tribute to the Ming and Qing courts, and Yongcheng flour carries a Chinese geographical-indication brand.

Highlights

• Mangdang Mountain Han Culture Tourism Area 芒砀山汉文化旅游区: National 5A scenic area since 2017, with the Western Han tombs of the princes of Liang.
• Chongfa Temple Pagoda 崇法寺塔: Nine-storey octagonal brick pagoda of 1093-1098, 34.6 metres tall, in the old town.
• Mangdang Mountain Confucian Temple 芒砀山文庙: Late-Qing temple on Fuzi Hill, a hill named for Confucius sheltering there from rain.
• Riyue Lake 日月湖: National 4A scenic area made from coal-mining subsidence land.
• Xuehu beef pan-fried buns 薛湖牛肉水煎包: Beef and sweet-potato noodle buns fried on a flat steel pan, crisp underneath.