Longnan 龙南市

History

Longnan was founded as a county in 953 under the Southern Tang, and Chinese Wikipedia says the name refers to the old county seat standing south of Longtou Mountain (龙头山). It became a county-level city in June 2020. Wang Yangming (王阳明) directed the suppression of the Sanli (三浰) uprising from here, and at Yushi Xianyan (玉石仙岩) his carved "Five Poems on Bringing the Army Back to Longnan" (回军龙南五首) survive with the grotto called "Yangming's Little Cave Heaven" (阳明小洞天). In November 2023 Longnan hosted the 32nd World Hakka Conference, the first county-level city to do so.

What to see

Guanxi Wei scenic area (关西围), in Guanxi town (关西镇), is a national 4A tourist area with six old walled houses and two exhibition halls. Its centrepiece, Guanxi New Enclosure (关西新围), was begun in 1798: a single square compound laid out symmetrically around an ancestral hall on the central axis, in the pattern of "nine buildings and eighteen halls" (九幢十八厅), which the city describes as the best-preserved and largest single square walled house yet found. Yanyi Enclosure (燕翼围), Wushi Enclosure (乌石围) and Taiping Bridge (太平桥) are also national key cultural relics protection units, and the southern Jiangxi Hakka walled houses, chiefly Longnan's, are on China's tentative list for World Heritage.

The Jiulian Mountains hold a national nature reserve and national forest park; their main peak, Huangniushi (黄牛石), stands at 1,780 metres on the border with Lianping (连平县) in Guangdong. South Wudang Mountain (南武当山) is a national scenic area, Yushi Xianyan, 3.5 kilometres north of the town, has a group of karst caves, and the Tanghu hot springs (汤湖温泉) are in Lintang (临塘乡). Qianxin Town (虔心小镇) is a national 4A tourist area.

Crafts, food and customs

The building craft of the southern Jiangxi Hakka walled houses is on the national intangible heritage list. Provincial listings include Yangcun rice wine brewing (杨村米酒酿造技艺), the Yangcun dragon boat race and the incense dragon (香火龙). Chinese Wikipedia notes that local fir timber is called "Longmu" (龙木) and that the longtou fish (龙头鱼) was once sent as tribute.

Highlights

• Guanxi New Enclosure 关西新围: Square Hakka walled house begun in 1798, laid out as nine buildings and eighteen halls; national key unit in a 4A scenic area.
• Yanyi Enclosure 燕翼围: Hakka walled house listed as a national key cultural relics protection unit.
• Yushi Xianyan 玉石仙岩: Karst caves 3.5 km north of the town with Wang Yangming's carved poems.
• Jiulian Mountains 九连山: National nature reserve; main peak Huangniushi, 1,780 m, on the Guangdong border.
• Qianxin Town 虔心小镇: National 4A tourist area.
• Tanghu hot springs 汤湖温泉: Hot springs in Lintang.