Shishou 石首市

Setting and landscape

Shishou sits where two plains meet: north of the river belongs to the Jianghan Plain (江汉平原), south of it to the Dongting Lake plain (洞庭湖平原). The Yangtze runs 89 km through the city, first south, then east to Tiaoguan (调关), then north again. Two of the four outlets through which the Jingjiang (荆江) sheds water south toward Dongting Lake, the Ouchi (藕池口) and the Tiaoxian (调弦口), leave the river here, and its shifting bed has left former channels covering 30,670 hectares. The land is mostly 31 to 36 metres above sea level; the highest point, Tunyanzi (屯岩子山) on Taohua Mountain (桃花山) in the east, reaches 368.9 metres. The city counts 101 lakes, among them Zhonghu (中湖), Shangjin Lake (上津湖) and Sanling Lake (三菱湖).

What to see

North of the river, the Tianezhou former channel (天鹅洲故道) is described by the city government as the largest natural wetland in the Yangtze basin and its only oxbow wetland. Père David's deer, Yangtze finless porpoises, Chinese sturgeon, storks and swans live there, and it holds two national nature reserves, one for the deer and one for porpoises and dolphins. In the southeast, Taohua Mountain runs for 45 li and is known for its bamboo; it is a provincial key scenic area.

The Zoumaling walled-town site (走马岭古城遗址) of the Qujialing culture (屈家岭文化) is a national key cultural relics protection site; the city government says it predates the earliest walled towns yet found in the Yellow River basin by several hundred years. The tomb of Fan Li (范蠡) and the Tiaoxian Pavilion (调弦亭) are among other remains.

History

The name, 'Stone Head', comes from a rock standing alone in the river at the head of the northern hills. A county was first set up here in 284 under the Western Jin, and it became a county-level city on 27 May 1986. In the Ming, Shishou produced three grand secretaries, including Yang Pu (杨溥).

Food and local products

Local products include Shishou icefish, mandarin fish from Zhonghu, Dongshan (东山) kiwi fruit, Taohua Mountain moso bamboo and Liuhushan (六虎山) tea. Bijia fish maw (笔架鱼肚), Taohua Mountain eggs and Qingshui reed shoots (清水荻笋) are known as the 'three treasures of Shishou' (石首三宝).

Getting oriented

Shishou borders Gong'an County (公安县) to the west, Jianli (监利) to the east and Jiangling County (江陵县) to the north, with Huarong (华容), Nan County (南县) and Anxiang (安乡) of Hunan to the southeast and southwest. The city centre is 100 km from Jingzhou and 102 km from Yueyang (岳阳).

Highlights

• Tianezhou former channel 天鹅洲故道: Oxbow wetland north of the Yangtze with national reserves for Père David's deer and for porpoises.
• Taohua Mountain 桃花山: Bamboo-covered range in the southeast, rising to 368.9 m; provincial key scenic area.
• Zoumaling walled-town site 走马岭古城遗址: Qujialing-culture walled town; national key cultural relics protection site.
• Bijia fish maw 笔架鱼肚: One of the 'three treasures of Shishou'.