Zhangshu 樟树市

Setting and landscape

Hills rise in the southeast and northwest, and a plain spreads along the Gan and the Yuan River (袁水), which joins the Gan west of the city centre. The Gan runs the length of the city, and the river port lies between the rail and road bridges in the urban area.

History

The Southern Tang created Qingjiang County in 938 from three townships of Gao'an (高安) and Xingan (新淦), with its seat at Xiaotan (潇滩), now Linjiang town (临江镇). From 992 Qingjiang was the seat county of Linjiang (临江军), a military prefecture that later became a Ming and Qing prefecture. The county and Zhangshu town were merged into Zhangshu city in 1988.

According to the national intangible-heritage register, medicine stalls appeared here in the Three Kingdoms period, a medicine fair in the Tang and a full market by the Song; in the Ming it was called a "medicine wharf", and under the Qing it gathered herbs from north and south, Sichuan and Guangdong. Its guild, the "Zhang bang" (樟帮), kept strict rules and refined herbal processing; the market customs were listed nationally in 2008 and the Zhangshu processing techniques in 2014. Chinese Wikipedia credits Ge Xuan (葛玄), revered by Taoists, with gathering, growing and preparing herbs on Gezao Mountain from 202 and treats him as the founder of the city's herb processing.

What to see

The Wucheng site (吴城遗址) in Wucheng township, found in 1973 and a national key cultural relic since 1996, was the first large Shang-dynasty settlement discovered south of the Yangtze; finds include proto-porcelain jars and a red pottery mask. Gezao Mountain (阁皂山), southeast of the city, is named for a shape like a pavilion and a dark colour; it is the ancestral mountain of the Lingbao school of Taoism and counts 99 peaks. Surviving remains there include Chongzhen Palace (崇真宫), the Jiexian Bridge (接仙桥) and Mingshui Bridge (鸣水桥).

Food and local products

Zhangshu gardenia (樟树黄栀子) and Zhangshu evodia fruit (樟树吴茱萸) are national geographical-indication products. The Site Tejiu (四特酒) distillery stands in the eastern suburbs, and a medicine trade fair is still held every year.

Highlights

• Wucheng site 吴城遗址: First large Shang settlement found south of the Yangtze; national key cultural relic since 1996.
• Gezao Mountain 阁皂山: Ancestral mountain of the Lingbao school of Taoism, with 99 peaks.
• Zhangshu medicine-market customs 樟树药俗: National intangible heritage since 2008; the market dates back to Song times.
• Zhangshu gardenia 樟树黄栀子: National geographical-indication product.