Longshan County 龙山县

Setting and landscape

Longshan sits at the eastern end of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau (云贵高原), with the Wuling Mountains (武陵山) crossing it from north-east to south-west, and it holds the southern source of the Li River (澧水). Ground rises from 218 m to 1,736 m on the main peak of Wanbao Mountain (万宝山). The Wulongshan National Geopark (乌龙山国家地质公园) covers 406 square kilometres in the centre-west, taking in the Wulongshan Grand Canyon, Luota (洛塔), Bamian Mountain and the Youshui; its karst features include stone forests, caves, gorges, waterfalls and underground rivers.

History

The area belonged to Youyang County (酉阳县) under the Han, and the name Longshan was fixed in the seventh year of the Qing Yongzheng reign. In June 2002, a rescue excavation at Liye (里耶) ahead of the Wanmipo hydropower station uncovered a walled town and wells of the Warring States period, built by Chu against Qin, and more than 36,000 bamboo slips. The Liye Qin slips are county archives from 222 to 210 BC, covering decrees, appointments, military supplies and even villagers' debts. In Qin times Liye was called Qianling (迁陵); one slip reading "迁陵以邮行洞庭" ("from Qianling, by post, to Dongting") is regarded as China's earliest posted letter, and the slips give the first known record of a Dongting Commandery (洞庭郡), a Qin name absent from transmitted texts.

What to see

Liye is listed as a Chinese Historical and Cultural Town. Bamian Mountain (八面山), also in Liye town, is a high tableland of about 52 square kilometres on the Chongqing border, averaging over 1,200 m, with peaks, caves, cliffs, sinkholes and natural bridges; China Daily puts its summer average at 20°C. Rebala (惹巴拉), at the meeting of the Xichehe (洗车河) and Dianfang (靛房河) rivers in Miao'ertan town (苗儿滩镇), joins three Tujia villages, Pengjiazhai, Rebala and Liangjiazhai, entered over a Y-shaped covered bridge; China News Service reports it is called "China's first Tujia village". Other A-rated sites include the Luota stone forest (洛塔石林) and the Ciyantang (茨岩塘) revolutionary base.

Crafts and festivals

The county records 209 intangible-heritage items, six of them national, including Tujia brocade weaving (土家织锦技艺) and the Tujia hand-waving dance (土家摆手舞). Rebala hands down the Maogusi (茅古斯), Dongdongkui (咚咚奎) and Xilankapu (西兰卡普) traditions. The Sheba Day festival (舍巴日) has been named one of China's most distinctive ethnic festivals by the National Ethnic Affairs Commission.

Highlights

• Liye Ancient Town 里耶古城: Warring States walled town where more than 36,000 Qin bamboo slips were excavated in 2002.
• Bamian Mountain 八面山: High tableland of about 52 square kilometres averaging over 1,200 m, with cliffs, sinkholes and natural bridges.
• Rebala 惹巴拉: Three Tujia villages at the meeting of the Xichehe and Dianfang rivers, linked by a Y-shaped covered bridge.
• Wulongshan National Geopark 乌龙山国家地质公园: 406 square kilometres of karst with stone forests, caves, gorges and underground rivers.