Luxi County 泸溪县

Setting and landscape

The county lies where the Wuling Mountains (武陵山) give way to the Xuefeng Mountains (雪峰山), a mountain county of "eight parts hills, half a part water and one part fields". The land lies at 300 to 500 metres, rising to 884.3 metres at Bamianshan (八面山) in the southwest. The Yuan runs about 40 kilometres through the county. Neighbours are Yuanling (沅陵) to the east, Chenxi (辰溪) and Mayang (麻阳) to the south, Jishou (吉首) and Fenghuang (凤凰) to the west and Guzhang (古丈) to the north.

History

The name goes back to Luzhou (卢州), set up in 511 under the Liang, and a Luxi County existed from 619; in the sixth year of the Qing Shunzhi reign the first character of the name was changed to its present form. At Xiawan (下湾遗址), on a low terrace on the left bank of the Yuan north of Pushi, excavations have pushed the human record of western Hunan back 6,500 years to the middle Neolithic, and jade objects were found there.

Chenhe gaoqiang (辰河高腔), an opera sung mainly in the high-pitched gaoqiang style along the Chen River tributary of the Yuan, entered the first national intangible heritage list in 2006 on Luxi's nomination; its repertoire includes 48 Mulian plays. Tahu cut-paper work (踏虎凿花) is another local craft.

What to see

Pushi town (浦市镇) was an important river port in the Ming and Qing and was called Little Nanjing. At its height it had three main streets, 45 lanes, six old opera stages, 23 cargo wharves and 72 temples. Its best-known old buildings include the Guanlan Academy (观澜书院), the Ji family compound (吉家大院) built by a family from Shanxi, the Li family school (李家私塾) and the Wanshou Palace (万寿宫); the Pushi group of old buildings was listed as a national key protected site in October 2019. The Gaoshanping ancient post road (高山坪古驿道) in Pushi town is protected by the province.

Along the Yuan's course through the county are Xiangzi Rock (箱子岩), named with Luxi and Pushi in the title of a piece by Shen Congwen (沈从文), hanging-coffin burials, the Xinnü shrine (辛女祠) and the Panhu cave (盘瓠洞). Xinzhaiping village (新寨坪村) is listed as a Chinese traditional village and keeps a continuous stand of old trees covering about 10,000 mu.

Highlights

• Pushi old town 浦市古镇: Ming and Qing river port called Little Nanjing, a national key protected site since 2019.
• Xiawan site 下湾遗址: Neolithic site north of Pushi that pushed western Hunan's human record back 6,500 years.
• Xiangzi Rock 箱子岩: Yuan River landmark named in the title of a piece by Shen Congwen.
• Chenhe gaoqiang 辰河高腔: Opera on the first national intangible heritage list in 2006, nominated by Luxi.