Xiajiang County 峡江县

Setting and landscape

The Gan flows north through the middle of the county for 38 kilometres, splitting it into east and west halves; south of Bajiu the river is only 400 metres wide, which the county government calls the narrowest point on its course, and the Xiajiang Water Control Project, built for flood control and power, stands there. The land rises toward the south-east and north-west. Wuduomeihua peak (五朵梅花) in Tonglin (桐林), at 644 metres, is the highest point, and the Gan valley at Renhe (仁和), at 26 metres, the lowest. Hills cover about 62 per cent of the county. The Yi (沂江), Huangjin (黄金江) and Panlong (盘龙江) rivers are the main tributaries.

History

The kingdom of Wu set up Bajiu County here in 267; it was abolished in 590, and Xiajiang County itself dates from 1526 under the Ming. The county seat stood at Bajiu on the west bank until 1 July 1997, when it moved to Shuibian (水边镇), 20 kilometres east of the river. A bridge over the Gan, opened in July 2004, joins the two halves.

What to see

Yusi Mountain (玉笥山), 2.5 kilometres south-west of the new county town, is counted in Daoist tradition as the 17th grotto-heaven and 8th blessed land, and is a provincial key scenic area and provincial forest park. The Xiajiang Meeting site (峡江会议旧址) recalls the Red Army's first steps toward defeating the encirclement campaigns. The Jinmeihua scenic area (金梅花景区), newly rated a national 4A scenic area, is in Jinping Ethnic Township (金坪民族乡), which the Jiujiang culture and tourism bureau describes as Jiangxi's only multi-ethnic township, home to nine ethnic groups; visitors can try batik, old-style papermaking and ethnic songs and dances.

Food and local products

Xiajiang traditional rice noodles (峡江传统米粉), dated to the early Southern Song and sent as tribute under the Ming, entered Jiangxi's second provincial intangible heritage list in 2007. They are made from late-season rice and water from Longxia village (龙下村) through fermenting, straining, boiling, stirring and pulling, and are eaten boiled, stir-fried, steamed, deep-fried or cold. Bean-and-chilli pickle (豆角辣椒), a fixture of Xiajiang tables, is made by mixing sun-dried long beans with fresh red chillies and salt and pickling them in pottery jars.

Getting oriented

The county lies 147 kilometres south of Nanchang, the provincial capital, and 74 kilometres north of Ji'an city. The Beijing–Kowloon railway, the Jiangxi–Guangdong expressway (赣粤高速公路), National Highway 105 and the Gan River waterway run north–south through the county.

Highlights

• Yusi Mountain 玉笥山: Daoist 17th grotto-heaven and 8th blessed land; provincial key scenic area and forest park.
• Jinmeihua scenic area 金梅花景区: National 4A scenic area in the multi-ethnic Jinping township, with batik and papermaking.
• Xiajiang Water Control Project 峡江水利枢纽工程: Flood-control and power dam at the 400-metre narrows south of Bajiu.
• Xiajiang traditional rice noodles 峡江传统米粉: Late-rice noodles on Jiangxi's provincial intangible heritage list since 2007.