Yuan'an County 远安县

Setting and landscape

The ground rises to the northwest and falls to the southeast. The Huangbai (黄柏河), Ju (沮河) and Zhang (漳河) rivers cross the county side by side, and the Ju runs through its middle. The western mountains are karst country with solution hollows, gorges and caves, and Taipingding (太平顶) in Yangping (洋坪镇) reaches 1,325.1 m. The east is hill land on sandstone and shale. In the centre the Ju has built a plain that falls to 76 m at Leidayan (雷打岩) in Hualinsi (花林寺).

History

The area was a Chu fief. A county was set up here in 140 BC under the Western Han and called Linju (临沮) after the Ju River. It became Gao'an (高安) in 401 and was renamed Yuan'an in 559 under the Northern Zhou. In the Second Revolutionary Civil War it formed part of the Jingmen–Dangyang–Yuan'an base of the Hunan–Western Hubei soviet area. The county government states that, in support of national defence, Yuan'an is the only county in Hubei that is not open to foreigners as a whole.

What to see

Mingfeng Mountain (鸣凤山), a Taoist holy mountain, stands right beside Mingfeng (鸣凤镇), the county seat on the Ju River. Leizu worship (嫘祖信俗), listed as national intangible heritage in 2011, honours her as the first silkworm-rearer at the Leizu Temple (嫘祖庙). The main rite falls on the 15th day of the third lunar month, her traditional birthday, and most worshippers are women. Yuan'an wuyin (远安呜音), listed in 2008, is played by wind-and-percussion bands of six, nine or twelve at weddings, funerals and temple fairs, using a horn slightly larger than a suona, with six holes.

Food and local products

Four farm products carry national geographical-indication certification: Wacang rice (瓦仓大米), Yuan'an yellow tea (远安黄茶), Yuan'an shiitake mushrooms (远安香菇) and Yuan'an chongcai (远安冲菜).

Highlights

• Mingfeng Mountain 鸣凤山: Taoist holy mountain next to the county seat, Mingfeng.
• Leizu worship 嫘祖信俗: National intangible heritage (2011); rites to Leizu as the first silkworm-rearer, main rite on the 15th day of the third lunar month.
• Yuan'an wuyin 远安呜音: National intangible heritage (2008); wind-and-percussion band music with more than 50 surviving tunes.
• Yuan'an yellow tea 远安黄茶: Geographical-indication agricultural product.