Huaibin County 淮滨县

History

The old name of the place is Wulongji (乌龙集). In the Western Zhou it was the state of Jiang (蒋国), which the county government gives as the origin of the Jiang surname, and in the Warring States it was the Chu town of Qisi (期思邑). Sunshu Ao (孙叔敖), the Chu chief minister remembered as a model of honest government, was born here. The county itself is recent: it was cut out of parts of Gushi (固始) and Xi (息县) counties in 1952 for flood control, and the county government counts 59 floods and droughts in the years since.

What to see

The China Huai River Museum (中国淮河博物馆), which the county government describes as the only museum presenting the whole development of civilisation in the Huai basin, stands on Dongshan Island (东山岛) in the East Lake scenic area (东湖风景区) of the county town. Beside the main building are a forest of steles, the Pavilion of the Three Worthies (三贤阁) and totem columns in Spring and Autumn and Warring States style.

Older remains include the Neolithic sites of Shazhong (沙冢) and Ban'gang (半岗) and the walled site of the Jiang state at Qisi (期思蒋国故城遗址). For landscape, the county names the Huainan Wetland Nature Reserve (淮南湿地自然保护区), listed among China's first important habitats for land wildlife, the Qisi Caohu wetland reserve (期思草湖湿地自然保护区) and a green corridor along the Huai.

Food and local products

Huaibin calls itself a "land of fish and rice" and grows weak-gluten wheat, rice, maize, sweet potatoes, rapeseed and peanuts. Wuguchun (五谷春) liquor is made here in a joint venture with the Wuliangye (五粮液) group. Folk crafts named by the county government include embroidery, lanterns, the land-boat dance (旱船), cloth relief pictures (布雕画) and clay whistles (泥叫吹).

The county government calls Huaibin the largest inland boatbuilding base in the Huai basin. The Xinyang Port Huaibin central port (信阳港·淮滨中心港), which began operating on 4 January 2022, connects the Huai, Yangtze and canal (运河) waterways.

Highlights

• China Huai River Museum 中国淮河博物馆: On Dongshan Island in East Lake, presenting the civilisation of the Huai basin.
• Huainan Wetland Nature Reserve 淮南湿地自然保护区: Listed among China's first important habitats for land wildlife.
• Jiang state walled site at Qisi 期思蒋国故城遗址: Remains of the Western Zhou state of Jiang.
• Huaibin clay whistles 泥叫吹: Folk craft named by the county government.