Yunmeng County 云梦县

History

The Western Wei set up Yunmeng County in 550 at the old town of Yunmeng, which stood on the shore of the marsh and gave the county its name. In December 1975 tomb 11 at Shuihudi, in Chengguan town (城关镇), yielded 1,155 Qin bamboo slips and 80 fragments recording laws and official documents. The tomb's owner, a man named Xi (喜), had served as a county clerk and taken part in trying cases. The slips are a key source on politics, the economy and law from the late Warring States period to the reign of the First Emperor. In March 2021 tomb 274 at the Zhengjiahu (郑家湖) cemetery produced a wooden gu (觚) whose long text tells of an adviser urging the king of Qin to stop fighting, an episode missing from the historical records.

What to see

Yunmeng County Museum, one of the county's three main visitor sites, uses AR glasses to let visitors meet the Qin clerk Xi and copy slip writing. Chuwangcheng Park (楚王城公园), a 3A scenic area, holds lantern shows and a music and water-screen show. Xiangyunwan (祥云湾), the county's first national 4A scenic area, gathers 257 old buildings rescued from across China and moved here. The Shuihudi archaeological site is also open, and the Huang Xiang Cultural Hall (黄香文化馆) has a shadow-puppet theatre.

Food and local products

Yunmeng fish noodles (云梦鱼面) have been made since the Daoguang reign of the Qing and are on Hubei's provincial intangible heritage list. Local river fish is boned and pounded into paste, mixed with wheat flour, then kneaded, rolled, steamed, cut and dried by hand. The finished noodles are thin as silver thread and white; they stay springy without breaking up in the pot and are served in clear broth, stir-fried or cooked in a hotpot.

Yunmeng shadow puppetry (云梦皮影戏), which rose in the mid-Qing and was added to the national intangible heritage list in 2011, is sung in the local Xixiang high tune (西乡高腔). Two performers are enough for a show, one in front, one on percussion behind, and the repertoire includes The Generals of the Yang Family (杨家将) and Wu Song Fights the Tiger (武松打虎).

Getting oriented

National Highways 316 and 347 and the Fuzhou–Yinchuan Expressway cross the county, and Yunmeng East station is on the Wuhan–Shiyan intercity railway (汉十城际铁路).

Highlights

• Shuihudi Qin bamboo slips 睡虎地秦简: 1,155 slips of Qin laws and documents excavated from tomb 11 at Shuihudi in December 1975.
• Xiangyunwan 祥云湾: The county's first national 4A scenic area, with 257 old buildings moved here from across China.
• Chuwangcheng Park 楚王城公园: 3A scenic area with lantern shows and a music and water-screen show.
• Yunmeng fish noodles 云梦鱼面: Hand-made noodles of pounded river fish and wheat flour; provincial intangible heritage.
• Yunmeng shadow puppetry 云梦皮影戏: Two-performer shadow play sung in the Xixiang high tune; national intangible heritage since 2011.