Get to know Shanggao County
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- Administrative area
- County · 县
- Part of
- Yichun
- Chinese name
- 上高县
- Local areas
- County guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 1,350.00 km²
- Population · 2018
- 384,000
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
History
The county owes its first name to migrants: in the Zhongping years of the Eastern Han (184 to 189), people from Shangcai (上蔡) in Runan (汝南) moved here, and a Shangcai County was cut out of Jiancheng (建成). It was renamed Wangcai (望蔡) in 280 and folded back into Jiancheng in 589. A town called Shanggao existed under the Tang, and Shanggao County was created in 952 under Yunzhou (筠州), later Ruizhou.
From 14 March to 9 April 1941 the Battle of Shanggao (上高会战) was fought around the county. Japanese forces, including the 33rd and 34th Divisions, advanced in three columns against the headquarters of the Chinese 19th Army Group under Luo Zhuoying (罗卓英), which was based at Shanggao, and were driven back. Japan called it the Jinjiang Operation (锦江作战).
What to see
The Battle of Shanggao sites (上高会战遗址) became a national key cultural relic protection unit in 2013. They include the headquarters of the 19th Army Group, the wartime command post of the 74th Army's 58th Division, the 74th Army's field hospital, a wartime prison and the headquarters of the Japanese 34th Division, mostly housed in ancestral halls and old family homes.
The Mengshan silver mine site (蒙山银矿遗址), also a national key unit since 2013, is on Meng Mountain (蒙山), 30 km south of the county town where Shanggao meets Yushui and Fenyi. Mining began after silver and lead were found in 1200; Kublai Khan set up a silver office here in 1276, and the Yuan period was the mine's peak. It was closed in 1406 as the ore ran out. Seventeen shafts lie within 22.5 square kilometres around a cliff called Taizibi (太子壁, Crown Prince Cliff), named for a legend that a Southern Song crown prince came to inspect the works; shafts No. 1 and No. 2 drop 140 metres vertically.
Getting oriented
The county seat is in Aoyang Subdistrict (敖阳街道). Shanggao is on the Shangxin railway (上新铁路), and the station closest to the county town is Taxia (塔下站).
Highlights
- Battle of Shanggao sites 上高会战遗址: Army headquarters, hospital and prison sites of the 1941 battle; national key cultural relic protection unit since 2013.
- Mengshan silver mine site 蒙山银矿遗址: Song-to-Ming silver mine with 17 shafts on Meng Mountain; national key unit since 2013.
- Taizibi 太子壁: Cliff at the silver mine named after a legendary visit by a Southern Song crown prince.
Sources for this guide
上高县 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Chinese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
上高会战 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Chinese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
上高会战遗址 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Chinese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
蒙山银矿遗址 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Chinese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-25.
Explore Shanggao County
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Shanggao County 上高县
Plan your visit
Getting there
Shanggao County is about 70 km in a straight line from central Yichun. Search for 上高县 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →More in Yichun
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Some facts checked against 上高县 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Some facts checked against 上高会战 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Some facts checked against 上高会战遗址 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Some facts checked against 蒙山银矿遗址 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark approximate centres, not entrances or boundaries.