Shenqiu County 沈丘县

Setting and landscape

The land falls gently from about 42 metres above sea level in the north-west to 36 metres in the south-east, and river scouring has left many ponds. Seven rivers cross the county, among them the Ying, Cai (蔡河), Quan (泉河) and Fen (汾河). The county seat is at Huaidian (槐店).

History

Ruxiangtai (乳香台), Qinggudui (青固堆) and Dongzhong (东冢) are Neolithic sites within the county. The western outskirts of Huaidian were the seat of the Western Zhou state of Xiang (项), and the south of the county belonged to Qinqiu (寝丘), a Chu town of the Spring and Autumn period. The area became Xiang county under the Qin, Moling (秣陵) under the Eastern Wei and Xiangcheng (项城) under the Sui, before the Ming created Shenqiu, a name meaning "ruins of Shen" after the Zhou-era state of Shen (沈国).

According to the county government, the Thousand Character Classic was compiled under Emperor Wu of Liang (梁武帝, reigned 502–549) by Zhou Xingsi, who arranged a thousand different characters taken from Wang Xizhi's (王羲之) calligraphy into rhymed four-character lines, reportedly in a single night. It became a standard primer and was translated into English in 1831.

What to see

The Chinese Huai Garden (中华槐园), north of the new administrative area of Huaidian, is built around the local custom of planting huai trees to honour ancestors and around the Zhou Xingsi connection. More than 20,000 trees of 68 varieties grow there; features include a Thousand Character Square, an old huai grove, the Sanhuai Hall (三槐堂) and Huaixiang Lake (槐香湖). It is a 3A scenic area and a provincial germplasm base for huai trees.

Food and local products

Gu family steamed buns (顾家馍), on Henan's intangible-heritage list, have been made for more than 400 years. Makers such as a workshop in Laocheng (老城镇) knead the dough far more than for ordinary buns and raise it with a home-made starter containing rice wine; the maker says the dried buns keep for decades without going mouldy or cracking. Gourd shapes are the classic form, with zodiac animals made for the New Year. The county's "eight flavours of Shenqiu" series includes fragrant chicken (飘香鸡), Ma Wu beef and mutton (马五牛羊肉) and Fuzi liquor (浮子酒). Huai goat skins (槐山羊板皮) are a national geographical-indication product.

Getting oriented

The Zhengzhou–Fuyang high-speed railway (郑阜高速铁路) stops at Shenqiu North station (沈丘北站), and the Ningluo expressway (宁洛高速) crosses the county.

Highlights

• Chinese Huai Garden 中华槐园: 3A park with more than 20,000 huai trees of 68 varieties and a Thousand Character Square.
• Gu family steamed buns 顾家馍: Provincial intangible heritage; dried buns made with a rice-wine starter, over 400 years old as a craft.
• Thousand Character Classic 千字文: Primer compiled by Zhou Xingsi, whom the county claims as a native.