Huangmei County 黄梅县

Setting and landscape

The county government describes the land in three bands: famous mountains and old temples in the north, lakes in the middle and open farmland in the south. Lakes, rivers, canals and reservoirs are dense, and the largest lake is Longgan Lake (龙感湖), whose nature reserve was Hubei's first national-level wetland reserve. Susong (宿松) in Anhui lies to the east, Wuxue (武穴) to the west and Qichun (蕲春) to the north.

History

Nearly a hundred late Palaeolithic stone tools found at Huangpang village (黄螃村) in Shanmu township (杉木乡) show people here 10,000 to 40,000 years ago. Xunyang County (寻阳县) was set up in the area in 164 BC. The name Huangmei dates from 598, taken from Huangmei Mountain and Huangmei River in the north of the county, and it has not changed since 625. In 1936 the Hubei–Jiangxi border was fixed on the Yangtze and north-bank land that had belonged to Jiujiang County was joined to Huangmei. The county government names it the birthplace of the 15th Red Army (红十五军).

The monasteries of Daoxin (道信) and Hongren (弘忍), the fourth and fifth patriarchs of Chan (Zen) Buddhism, were in Huangmei, and the sixth patriarch Huineng (慧能) received the teaching here. Huangmei opera, Huangmei cross-stitch embroidery (黄梅挑花), the legends of the Chan patriarchs and Huangmei Yue family boxing (岳家拳) are all on the national intangible heritage list. Yue Zhen (岳震) and Yue Ting (岳霆), sons of the general Yue Fei, lived in seclusion here and are credited with keeping Yue family boxing alive; in 2001 the national sports authority named Huangmei a home of martial arts. In 1991 the China Couplet Society made it the country's second "home of couplets".

What to see

The Fourth Patriarch Temple (四祖寺) and Fifth Patriarch Temple (五祖寺) remain active Buddhist centres, and the county government also lists Miaole Temple (妙乐寺). Nuobuyuan (挪步园) in the western hills is a cloud-wrapped summer retreat; the Jin plum tree (晋梅) at Caishan (蔡山) flowers twice; Taibai Lake (太白湖) and Luanshi Pagoda (乱石塔) are other named sights.

Food and local products

Huangmei freshwater shrimp (黄梅青虾), Huangmei Chan tea (黄梅禅茶), Huangmei fish noodles (黄梅鱼面), lotus-leaf tea (黄梅荷叶茶), Duihua liquor (黄梅堆花酒) and the cross-stitch embroidery hold national geographical indication status.

Getting oriented

The Beijing–Kowloon and Hefei–Jiujiang railways meet in the county, the Shanghai–Chongqing and Fuzhou–Yinchuan expressways cross it, and two Jiujiang Yangtze bridges link it with Jiujiang. The county seat, Huangmei town, is 164 kilometres from Huangzhou, the seat of Huanggang.

Highlights

• Fifth Patriarch Temple 五祖寺: Linked with Hongren, fifth patriarch of Chan Buddhism, whose monastery was in Huangmei.
• Fourth Patriarch Temple 四祖寺: Linked with Daoxin, fourth patriarch of Chan Buddhism.
• Longgan Lake 龙感湖: The county's largest lake; its reserve was Hubei's first national-level wetland reserve.
• Huangmei cross-stitch embroidery 黄梅挑花: National intangible heritage and a geographical indication product.
• Huangmei fish noodles 黄梅鱼面: National geographical indication product.