Tongshan County 通山县

Setting and landscape

The Mufu range stretches about 150 kilometres along the southern border with Jiangxi, with more than ten peaks above 1,000 metres; the county's highest point, Laoyajian (老鸦尖) on Taiyang Mountain (太阳山), reaches 1,656.7 metres. Damu Mountain (大幕山) lies across the north, and between the two ranges are hills and basins. Five main rivers, among them the Tongyang River (通羊河), drain into the Fushui Reservoir (富水水库) in the east of the county. The county seat, Tongyang (通羊镇), lies 37 kilometres southeast of the Xianning city government and 124 kilometres from Wuhan.

History

Tongshan County was split from Yongxing County (永兴县) in 964 under the Song, with its seat at Tongyang; according to Chinese Wikipedia, the name combines one character each from the older Qingshan (青山镇) and Tongyang towns. The Chinese Wikipedia article on Jiugong Mountain records that the Song Taoist Zhang Daoqing (张道清) built three halls and twelve courtyards on the mountain in 1187. Tongshan is also one of the places that claim the grave of Li Zicheng (李自成), leader of the late-Ming peasant rebellion; the Tongshan tomb is a national key protected heritage site, although where he died is still disputed.

What to see

Jiugong Mountain, a national nature reserve and AAAA scenic area in the middle section of the Mufu range, has a 1,656-metre main peak. Chinese Wikipedia describes its Yunzhong Lake (云中湖) as the largest alpine lake in Hubei and lists waterfalls, including the Dayatou Falls (大崖头瀑布) with a drop of more than 400 metres. Within the reserve are the Yunguan cliff inscriptions (云关摩崖石刻), a provincial heritage site listed in 2025, and the Lijiapu battlefield site (李家铺古战场遗址); the Li Zicheng tomb scenic area (闯王陵) at the western foot of the mountain is rated AAA.

Yinshui Cave (隐水洞) in Dafan town (大畈镇) is an AAAA scenic area classed by the county culture and tourism bureau as a geological landform site.

Food and local products

Cikou hollow noodles (慈口空心面), first made at the Zhu Yuesheng (朱月胜) noodle shop in 1853, are long thin noodles pierced through by hand during kneading and do not turn the broth pasty even when reboiled. Dafan sesame cakes (大畈麻饼) combine flour, sesame, tea oil, rock sugar, raisins and dried tangerine peel, and are steamed, smoked, baked and roasted. Yanxia smoked fish (燕厦熏鱼烤) is made from Fushui river fish. Tongshan wood carving (通山木雕), mainly relief work drawing on local Han opera and tea-picking opera stories, entered the national intangible heritage list in 2014.

Highlights

• Jiugong Mountain 九宫山: National nature reserve and AAAA scenic area in the Mufu range, main peak 1,656 metres.
• Li Zicheng Tomb 闯王陵: AAA scenic area; the Tongshan tomb of Li Zicheng is a national key protected site.
• Yinshui Cave 隐水洞: AAAA geological scenic area in Dafan town.
• Cikou hollow noodles 慈口空心面: Hand-pierced hollow noodles first made in 1853.
• Tongshan wood carving 通山木雕: Relief carving on national intangible heritage list since 2014.