Guidong County 桂东县

Setting and landscape

The county seat stands above 800 metres, which Chinese Wikipedia gives as the highest of any county seat in Hunan. The north of the county is mostly mountains and the south mostly basins, and its streams are among the sources of the Xiang River (湘江). Qingzhu Village (青竹村), at an average altitude of 1,230 metres, lies at the head of the Lei River (耒水), a Xiang tributary. Mount Bamian (八面山) is one of the highest peaks in Hunan and is protected as a national nature reserve.

History

Guidong was created in 1211, under the Southern Song, from two townships of what is now Rucheng County (汝城县). On 3 April 1928 Mao Zedong issued the "Three Rules of Discipline and Six Points for Attention" at Shatian, later expanded into the Eight Points and hailed as the "first military rule". On 12 August 1934, on the riverbank at Zhaiqian (寨前), the Red Seventeenth and Eighteenth Divisions, sent ahead of the Central Red Army's Long March, held a rally for the westward march, and the Red Sixth Army Group (红六军团) was formally founded under Xiao Ke (萧克).

What to see

The Shatian proclamation site is a national AAA scenic area that includes the Wanshou Palace (万寿宫), the Shatian opera stage (沙田戏台), a memorial hall and the First Military Rule Square (第一军规广场). In the county town, the memorial hall of the Red Army in Guidong opened in 1968 and encloses the Tang family house (唐家大屋), where the Red Fourth Army front committee held an enlarged meeting; that site is a national protected monument.

For mountain scenery, the Wanyangshan scenic area (万洋山) is mostly upland meadow between 1,000 and 1,888 metres with groves of Fortune's rhododendron. Qing'e Mountain (青娥山) reaches 1,882 metres on the border of Zhaiqian and Sidu (四都), and the Longxi Waterfall (龙溪瀑布), one of the county's eight traditional views, drops 126 metres. The Heping terraces (禾坪梯田) in Oujiang Town (沤江镇) cover more than 2,000 mu.

Food and local products

Guidong grows Linglong tea (玲珑茶) on an estate of more than 10,000 mu in Qingquan (清泉) and Qiaotou (桥头), where visitors can pick and process tea. Puli Town (普乐镇) is known for earthenware such as vats, pots and stoves, and the old Laowanchang kiln site (老碗厂) there is a provincial protected site. Red Net's route guide suggests local yellow ciba (黄糍粑), mugwort ciba (艾糍粑) and bracken for lunch at Zhaiqian.

Highlights

• Shatian proclamation site 《三大纪律·六项注意》颁布地: National AAA scenic area where Mao Zedong issued the discipline rules on 3 April 1928.
• Tang family house 唐家大屋: Site of the Red Fourth Army front committee enlarged meeting, a national protected monument inside the county memorial hall.
• Wanyangshan scenic area 万洋山: Upland meadows between 1,000 and 1,888 m with Fortune's rhododendron.
• Mount Bamian 八面山: One of Hunan's highest peaks, protected as a national nature reserve.
• Longxi Waterfall 龙溪瀑布: A 126-metre fall counted among the county's eight traditional views.
• Linglong tea 玲珑茶: Grown on a tea estate of more than 10,000 mu in Qingquan and Qiaotou.