Huaiyang District 淮阳区

History

Local tradition holds that Fuxi made his capital here under the name Wanqiu (宛丘), and that King Wu of Zhou (周武王) later enfeoffed a descendant of Shun, Gui Man (妫满), as ruler of the state of Chen. In the Warring States period the city served as a Chu capital, Chenying (陈郢). The name Huaiyang dates from the Huaiyang commandery of 200 BC. Chen Sheng's (陈胜) rebel army took Chen in 209 BC and set up the Zhangchu (张楚) regime there. The county became a district of Zhoukou in 2019.

The district government lists the Pingliangtai (平粮台) ancient city as China's earliest known square city with the earliest complete drainage system, and the Shizhuang (时庄) site, described as the oldest granary settlement yet found, was named among the national top ten archaeological discoveries for both 2019 and 2020.

What to see

The Taihao Mausoleum faces south and combines a tomb with a palace-style temple; it became a national key cultural relic site in 1996. Its layout dates from the Hongwu reign of the Ming, and its largest hall, the Tongtian Hall (统天殿), rises 15.7 metres under yellow glazed tiles. From the second day of the second lunar month to the third day of the third, a steady stream of visitors comes to honour Fuxi, and the mausoleum's temple fair holds a Guinness record of 825,000 visitors in one day. East of it stands the Chenzhou Fuxi Stele Forest (陈州伏羲碑林), inscriptions praising Fuxi.

Dragon Lake covers close to 11 square kilometres and is a national wetland park; the mausoleum and parts of the lake together form a 5A scenic area. In the lake stands the Bagua Terrace (画卦台), a turtle-shaped platform whose name means "terrace where the trigrams were drawn". By Nantan Lake (南坛湖) lies the tomb of Duke Hu of Chen (陈胡公), ancestral grave of the Chen surname.

Food and crafts

Huaiyang clay dogs (淮阳泥泥狗), a national intangible heritage item since 2014, are made in villages east and north-east of the mausoleum and serve as offerings at its fair; they are painted on a black ground with sorghum-stalk pens, and besides dogs they include birds, beasts, insects and fish. District food guides list Kongji roast chicken (孔集烧鸡), with tender meat and crisp sinews, and small crisp-fish soup (小焦鱼汤) from Nanguan (南关), where the Yang and Duan families both trace their recipes to the late Qing. Huaiyang daylilies (淮阳黄花菜) are a geographical-indication product.

Highlights

• Taihao Mausoleum 太昊陵: Ming-period tomb-temple of Fuxi, national key site since 1996, with a spring temple fair.
• Dragon Lake 龙湖: Lake of almost 11 square kilometres around the town; national wetland park.
• Pingliangtai ancient city site 平粮台古城遗址: Listed by the district as China's earliest known square city.
• Huaiyang clay dogs 淮阳泥泥狗: Painted clay toys offered at the temple fair; national intangible heritage, 2014.
• Bagua Terrace 画卦台: Turtle-shaped platform in the lake north of the town, protected by the county since 1962.