Jiangxia District 江夏区

Setting and landscape

Jiangxia borders Hongshan District (洪山区) to the north, Ezhou (鄂州) to the northeast, Daye (大冶) to the southeast, Xianning (咸宁) to the south and Jiayu County (嘉鱼县) to the southwest, and faces Hanyang (汉阳区) and Hannan (汉南区) across the Yangtze. The land is a transition from the Mufu hills (幕阜山) of southern Hubei to the Jianghan Plain (江汉平原). Its hills fan out from Gezi Mountain (个字山), and Bafen Mountain (八分山), at 272.5 metres, is the highest.

Water covers just over a third of the district. The Jin River (金水) meets the Yangtze at Jinkou (金口), Liangzi Lake (梁子湖) drains out through Fankou (樊口), and Tangxun Lake (汤逊湖) through the Wutai sluice (武泰闸).

History

Neolithic finds at Xianglushan (香炉山), uncovered in 1958, show early settlement. In 201 BC the Han court set up Jiangxia commandery (江夏郡) east of the Han River, with Shaxian county (沙羡县) seated at Tukou (塗口), today's Jinkou; the district government describes Shaxian as the first county-level administration in the area and the earliest seat of local government in the Wuhan region. In 589 Runan county (汝南县) was renamed Jiangxia and moved its seat to Ezhou city (鄂州城), today's Wuchang District. Renamed Wuchang County in 1913, it moved its seat from Fujiapo (傅家坡) in Wuchang to Zhifang (纸坊) in 1960, and in 1995 the State Council replaced the county with Jiangxia District.

What to see

Lingshan Eco-cultural Tourism Area (灵山生态文化旅游区) at Wulongquan (乌龙泉) is Wuhan's first scenic area made from an abandoned mine: a 50-metre waterfall drops from the hilltop, minerals in the rock tint the lake blue, and there are rapeseed fields and a 100-mu lotus pond.

Canglong Island National Wetland Park (藏龙岛国家湿地公园) lies on the east side of Tangxun Lake and covers about 311 hectares; a 10-kilometre lakeside path passes 24 small bridges modelled on famous bridges from China and abroad. Tan Xinpei Park (谭鑫培公园), north of Zhifang, is a Peking opera park honouring Tan Xinpei (谭鑫培), founder of the Tan school, with a memorial hall, an old-style stage and seven footbridges named after his signature plays.

Food

The district's best-known dish is Wulijie steamed pork in rice flour (五里界粉蒸肉), from Wulijie (五里界) in the east of the district near Liangzi Lake. Pork belly is coated in flour ground from early-season rice with a little glutinous rice so it holds together, and is paired with lotus root. The district government says it became famous after Hubei governor Zhang Tixue (张体学) served it to Premier Zhou Enlai in the 1950s.

Highlights

• Lingshan Eco-cultural Tourism Area 灵山生态文化旅游区: Wuhan's first scenic area converted from an abandoned mine, with a 50-metre waterfall and a blue-tinted lake.
• Canglong Island National Wetland Park 藏龙岛国家湿地公园: About 311 hectares beside Tangxun Lake, with a 10-kilometre path past 24 model bridges.
• Tan Xinpei Park 谭鑫培公园: Peking opera theme park honouring the founder of the Tan school.
• Wulijie steamed pork in rice flour 五里界粉蒸肉: Pork belly steamed in a coat of early-season and glutinous rice flour.