Poyang County 鄱阳县

Setting and landscape

The county covers 4,215 square kilometres. To the north lie Pengze (彭泽) and, in Anhui, Dongzhi (东至); Yugan (余干) and Wannian (万年) are to the south, and the Changjiang District (昌江区) of Jingdezhen (景德镇), Fuliang (浮梁) and Leping (乐平) to the east; Duchang (都昌) adjoins it to the north-west. The north and north-east are hills with two large reservoirs, Junmin (军民水库) and Bintian (滨田水库), the west is lake country of inlets and wetlands, and the centre and south are part of the Poyang Lake plain. Historically it was known as a place where "boats and carts reach in all directions" (舟车四达).

History

Under the Zhou the settlement was called Fan (番). In 221 BC the Qin made it Fan County, and its magistrate Wu Rui (吴芮) began building the town walls. The Western Han renamed it Fanyang because it lay north of the Fan River, today's Po River (鄱江), and the Eastern Han added the radical that gives the modern character. From 589 it was the seat of Raozhou, and in 1436 the Ming moved the Prince of Huai, Zhu Zhan'ao (朱瞻墺), to Raozhou, and his family lived in Poyang until the dynasty fell. Because the character for Po (鄱) was thought too obscure, the county was renamed Boyang (波阳) in 1957; the old name returned on 17 December 2003.

What to see

The East Poyang Lake National Wetland Park (东鄱阳湖国家湿地公园) lies in the county. For the first Poyang Lake bird-watching week, viewing points were set up there at Wunian Island (无念岛), Baishazhou (白沙洲) and Xiangyouzhou (香油洲). Among the county's historic sites are the Raozhou prefectural Confucian temple (饶州府文庙), Wanshou Temple (万寿寺) on Lianhua Mountain (莲华山) and Waxieba (瓦屑坝).

Food and local products

Poyang bodiless lacquerware (鄱阳脱胎漆器) joined the national intangible-heritage list in 2011. The craft goes back to the pre-Qin period and changed greatly in the late Qing; a piece passes through moulding, lacquering, metal rims, painting and polishing, and in 1915 a black carved and gilded lacquer hat holder by the Poyang craftsman Zhang Xizhen (张席珍) won an award at the Panama International Exposition.

Getting oriented

Poyang station is on the Quzhou–Jiujiang railway, and national highways 236 and 351 cross the county.

Highlights

• East Poyang Lake National Wetland Park 东鄱阳湖国家湿地公园: Lakeside wetland park with bird-watching points at Wunian Island, Baishazhou and Xiangyouzhou.
• Raozhou prefectural Confucian temple 饶州府文庙: Confucian temple of the former Raozhou prefecture.
• Poyang bodiless lacquerware 鄱阳脱胎漆器: National intangible heritage since 2011; a Poyang piece won an award at the 1915 Panama exposition.