Taikang County 太康县

History

Local tradition says the town was built by Taikang (太康), a king of the Xia, who was also buried here, and so gave it his name. The Qin created Yangxia county (阳夏) in 224 BC, and the Sui renamed it Taikang in 587. Yellow River breaches flooded the county in 1305 and 1448, and again in 1938 after Chiang Kai-shek (蒋介石) had the dike at Huayuankou (花园口) blown open. The county was named a "China hometown of filial culture" in December 2019; its old fairs include one at Taomugang (陶母岗) recalling how Tao Kan (陶侃) searched for his mother.

What to see

The Confucian Temple stands on the north side of Huangxue Street (黉学街) in the old town by the Guo River and faces south. It was founded in 1426, burned in 1642, rebuilt in 1648 and repaired in 1667, 1934 and 1952. Of its original axis of pool, gates, halls and shrine, only the worship hall and the Dacheng Hall (大成殿) survive, both rebuilt under the Qing. The Dacheng Hall sits on a one-metre terrace, seven bays and 22.65 metres wide, under green glazed tiles, with a ridge of two dragons playing with a pearl; the Zhoukou city government notes that its tall, upswept corners follow a southern style seldom seen in central China. The temple is a national key cultural relic site, as is the Ming-dynasty Shoushengsi Pagoda at Gaoxian (高贤寿圣寺塔).

Opera, food and crafts

Taikang daoqing opera entered the first national intangible-heritage list in 2006. It grew out of Taoist chant; surveys counted more than 30 tunes, and more than 70 traditional and more than 40 modern plays survive. Its accompaniment includes the daoqing fiddle, suona and the fish drum (渔鼓).

The county's sixth heritage list, published in November 2024 with 31 items, includes several foods: Tan family pig's trotters (谭记猪蹄), wind-dried rabbit (风干兔肉), the Lü family's pan-fried buns (吕家煎包), Lao Yang's vinegar (老杨家醋) and sesame-sugar slices (麻糖片), alongside glove-puppet theatre (布袋木偶剧) and Wang Xiulan's paper-cutting (王秀兰剪纸).

Getting oriented

Taikang borders Fugou (扶沟), Xihua (西华), Huaiyang (淮阳), Zhecheng (柘城), Suixian (睢县), Qixian (杞县) and Tongxu (通许). National roads 311 and 106 meet in the county town, and the Daguang (大广) and Yongdeng (永登) expressways cross the county.

Highlights

• Taikang Confucian Temple 太康文庙: Founded 1426; Qing worship hall and Dacheng Hall survive; national key site.
• Gaoxian Shoushengsi Pagoda 高贤寿圣寺塔: Ming pagoda on the national key site list.
• Taikang daoqing opera 太康道情戏: Opera rooted in Taoist chant; national intangible heritage since 2006.
• Lü family pan-fried buns 吕家煎包: On the county's sixth intangible-heritage list, 2024.