Huichang County 会昌县

History

Huichang was split from Yudu (于都) in 982 under the Northern Song. The county government says it was named after twelve old bricks carved with the characters "Huichang" in seal script, found when a well was dug. Walls were first built in the Southern Song, and a saying paired "copper Ganzhou" with "iron Huichang" for its strength as a garrison town. Yangjiaoshui Fort (羊角水堡), a Ming village fortress, is in the seventh batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

During the Agrarian Revolution period Huichang was the southern gate of the Central Soviet Area. On 23 July 1934 Mao Zedong climbed a peak outside the town and wrote the poem "Qingpingle: Huichang" (清平乐·会昌), with its line "the scenery here is uniquely fine" (风景这边独好). Deng Xiaoping (邓小平) was the first person to serve as secretary of the Huixun'an (会寻安) central county Party committee.

What to see

Huichang Mountain (会昌山) forest park rises west of the town on the northwest bank of the Gong. Its Lanshan (岚山) section holds a stele of Mao's poem, the site of a Red Army hospital, the site of the Huichang Mountain battle fought by the Nanchang Uprising troops, and a martyrs' tower. In the Tafeng (塔丰) section stands Longguang Pagoda (龙光宝塔), an eight-sided tower 51.188 metres high built in 1624, and Shigongyan (师公岩), southwest of the town, is a Taoist site where the Northern Song scholar Yin Tianmin (尹天民) studied. Hanxian Rock (汉仙岩) at Junmenling (筠门岭镇) is a Danxia landform and a national scenic area; the county also has Hanxian Lake (汉仙湖) and the Opera Town (戏剧小镇).

Food and local products

Huichang rice noodles (会昌米粉) are a national geographical indication product, made of rice alone and eaten in soup or stir-fried. Huichang pressed tofu (会昌豆干) is pressed into thin sheets, braised and then baked, and tastes salty and hot; "Huichang Jianggan" (会昌酱干) became a geographical indication trademark in 2016. Other local foods are taro cooked in "sour water" (酸水), water that has been left to turn sour; fried pond-fish cakes called yuziban (鱼子粄) seasoned with chilli and sesame; and suanzao cake (酸枣糕), made from wild suanzao fruit gathered in the mountain forests and wrapped in thin glutinous-rice paper.

Highlights

• Huichang Mountain 会昌山: Forest park where Mao wrote his 1934 poem; stele, Red Army hospital site and Longguang Pagoda.
• Longguang Pagoda 龙光宝塔: Eight-sided pagoda of 1624, 51.188 m high, on the west bank of the Gong.
• Hanxian Rock 汉仙岩: Danxia landform at Junmenling; a national scenic area and 4A tourist area.
• Yangjiaoshui Fort 羊角水堡: Ming village fortress, a national key cultural relics protection unit.
• Huichang rice noodles 会昌米粉: All-rice noodles with national geographical indication status.