Gongzhuling 公主岭市

History

The name began as 'princess tomb' (公主陵). Princess Hejing (固伦和敬公主), a daughter of the Qianlong Emperor, married the Khorchin (科尔沁) Mongol prince Sebten Baljur (色布腾巴尔珠尔). She was buried near Beijing, but his family built a cenotaph for her on their own lands. When the Russian Empire built the Chinese Eastern Railway (中东铁路), the station near the cenotaph was first called Third Station and then took the tomb's name. After the Russo-Japanese War the Japanese, who thought a tomb name unlucky, swapped the last character for the homophone ling (岭), meaning 'ridge'.

Huaide County was approved on 21 December 1877, with its seat at Bajiazhen (八家镇). The county government moved to Gongzhuling in May 1949, and in 1985 the county was abolished and replaced by Gongzhuling city.

Setting and landscape

The city government likens the territory to a crescent moon, wide in the north and narrow in the south, lying along the East Liao. The southern uplands belong to the Dahei Mountains (大黑山) of the Zhangguangcai Range (张广才岭); the north is part of the Songliao Plain (松辽平原). A watershed crosses the city: western streams join the Liao River system, while eastern ones, led by the Xinkai River (新开河), drain to the Songhua (松花江).

What to see

The city government has recorded 153 relic sites. The Qinjiatun site (秦家屯遗址) was made a national protected site in 2006, and ten sites, including the Pianliancheng (偏脸城) and Huanghuacheng (黄花城) sites, were listed by Jilin province in 2007. Asked about scenic areas, the city government named two: Dalongshan Culture Park (大龙山文化园) and the Ershijiazi Manchu Town resort (二十家子满族镇旅游度假区). Ershijiazi and Longshan (龙山) are the city's two ethnic townships.

Food and local products

Gongzhuling holds the titles 'home of maize' (中国玉米之乡) and 'home of youdoujiao green beans' (中国油豆角之乡). The maize title was conferred on 23 September 2011, at the opening of the first Gongzhuling maize festival.

Getting oriented

The city borders Changchun's Chaoyang District (朝阳区) and Nong'an County (农安县) to the east and northeast, and faces Lishu County (梨树县) across the East Liao. The Beijing–Harbin railway stops at Gongzhuling Station and the Beijing–Harbin high-speed railway at Gongzhuling South; the Beijing–Harbin and Changchun–Shenzhen expressways cross the city.

Highlights

• Qinjiatun site 秦家屯遗址: Made a national protected site in 2006.
• Pianliancheng site 偏脸城遗址: One of the sites listed by Jilin province in 2007.
• Dalongshan Culture Park 大龙山文化园: One of the two scenic areas named by the city government.
• Ershijiazi Manchu Town resort 二十家子满族镇旅游度假区: The other scenic area named by the city government, in one of its two ethnic townships.