Zengdu District 曾都区

History

The Zengdu district archive traces the area back to the legendary Lieshan clan (烈山氏). In the Western Zhou the land was granted as the state of Zeng, while Spring and Autumn and Warring States texts speak of a state of Sui (随国); the archive states that archaeology has shown Zeng and Sui to be one state under two names, lasting more than 700 years. Late in the Warring States, Chu (楚) turned Sui into a county. An inscription on a bell that King Hui of Chu (楚惠王) sent to Marquis Yi gives the old name of the present town centre as Xiyang (西阳).

Suizhou was raised to a prefecture (州) in 535 under the Western Wei. Zengdu District itself was created on 25 June 2000, when Suizhou became a prefecture-level city, and in May 2009 nineteen of its townships were split off to form Sui County (随县).

What to see

The Leigudun tomb group (擂鼓墩古墓群) covers low hills on the northwestern edge of town: Warring States burials of the Zeng state, with more than 200 tombs found since 1978. Tomb M1 at Tuanpo (团坡) is the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng. The State Council listed the tomb group as a national key cultural relics protection unit in 1988, and in 2022 the Leigudun Archaeological Site Park was added to the list of projects for national archaeological site parks.

Suizhou Museum (随州博物馆) opened in October 1978; its new building stands on Leigudun Avenue (擂鼓墩大道), next to the Marquis Yi of Zeng Tomb Site Museum (曾侯乙墓遗址博物馆). It has seven exhibition halls and was rated a national first-grade museum in December 2020.

Away from town, Luoyang (洛阳镇), one of the district's five towns, is styled 'China's home of the ginkgo'. Its Thousand-Year Ginkgo Valley (千年银杏谷) scenic area has old ginkgo trees growing together in continuous groves.

Getting oriented

The district government describes Zengdu as the 'throat of Han and Xiang' (汉襄咽喉), lying at the junction of the old Jing (荆) and Yu (豫) regions, where Central Plains culture met Chu culture. Besides its urban subdistricts, it governs the towns of Xihe (淅河), Wandian (万店), Hedian (何店), Luoyang and Fuhe (府河). The district also bills itself as the home of ancient chime-bell music.

Highlights

• Leigudun tomb group 擂鼓墩古墓群: Warring States cemetery of the Zeng state, including the tomb of Marquis Yi; national key cultural relics protection unit since 1988.
• Suizhou Museum 随州博物馆: Opened in 1978, now in a new building on Leigudun Avenue; rated a national first-grade museum in 2020.
• Thousand-Year Ginkgo Valley 千年银杏谷: Scenic area of old ginkgo groves in Luoyang town, styled 'China's home of the ginkgo'.