Huarong County 华容县

Setting and landscape

The north of the county is low hill country cut by small valley plains, the centre and south are rolling uplands, and the rest is flat land tilting gently toward East Dongting Lake. The highest point, Leidayan (雷打岩), is in Dongshan town (东山镇). On the east, the Xianglu (香炉山), Tianjing (天井山) and Shizi (狮子山) hills mark the boundary with Junshan District (君山区); on the west, the eastern branch of the Ouchi River (藕池河) separates Huarong from Nan County (南县).

The Huarong River (华容河), also called the Tuo (沱水), runs through the county town. It began as a canal cut by Du Yu (杜预) that draws water from the Yangtze in present-day Shishou and carries it to Dongting Lake. The Huayi Reservoir (华一水库) in Sanfengsi town (三封寺镇) is the county's largest water project.

History

Four Neolithic sites have been found in the county. The present county dates from 280, when Nan'an County (南安县) was split from Chanling (孱陵); it was renamed Anan (安南县) in 422 and took the name Huarong in 598. An older Huarong County had its seat in what is now Jianli. The county was assigned to the Changde, Yiyang and Yueyang prefectures in turn after 1949 and has been part of Yueyang since 1964.

The old Huarong Road (华容道), where Guan Yu (关羽) lets Cao Cao (曹操) escape in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, is placed here, although some scholars place it in Jianli. Most people speak Huarong dialect, a form of Southwestern Mandarin; about a fifth, in southern towns bordering Yiyang, speak a Xiang dialect known locally as "southern speech" (南边话).

What to see

The tomb of Liu Daxia (刘大夏墓), a provincial protected site, is in Huating village (话亭村), about 10 kilometres east of the county town. Taohuashan Forest Park (桃花山森林公园) in Sanfengsi town adjoins the Huayi Reservoir, and the Chegushan archaeological site (车轱山遗址) is in the same town. In the south of the county, the Yushan area (禹山) centres on a 157-metre peak and includes the former residence of He Changgong (何长工). The county culture and tourism bureau lists an archaeology study base at the Qixingdun site (七星墩遗址) among the projects it is pushing ahead in 2026. On the Yangtze bank at Tashiyi (塔市驿) in Dongshan town stands the Yunmeng Pagoda (云梦塔).

Food and local products

The county's food industry processes mustard greens (芥菜), and its farm output includes cotton, ramie, lotus seeds (湘莲), citrus, tea and chillies.

Highlights

• Tomb of Liu Daxia 刘大夏墓: Provincial protected site in Huating village, about 10 km east of the county town.
• Yunmeng Pagoda 云梦塔: Pagoda on the Yangtze bank at Tashiyi in Dongshan town.
• Huarong River 华容河: Canal first cut by Du Yu, running from the Yangtze through the county town to Dongting Lake.
• Taohuashan Forest Park 桃花山森林公园: Forest park in Sanfengsi town joined to the Huayi Reservoir.