Nong'an County 农安县

History

The county government traces the old town to the Buyeo (夫余) kingdom, which used it as a capital in the Han period; it later served as Buyeo prefecture under Balhae (渤海). After the Liao conquered Balhae it was renamed Huanglong, "Yellow Dragon", after a legend of a yellow dragon seen over the town when the Liao founder Yelü Abaoji (耶律阿保机) lay dying there in 926. Under the Liao the walled town sat on high ground on the west bank of the Yitong River (伊通河), square in plan with a circuit of 3,840 m and a corner tower at each angle.

Wanyan Aguda (完颜阿骨打), rising against the Liao, took the town in 1115, and the Southern Song general Yue Fei (岳飞) is remembered for urging his men to "drive straight to Huanglong Prefecture". In 1214 the Jin raised it to Longan Prefecture (隆安府), and the later name Nong'an is a homophone of Longan and Long'an. The area was opened to farming in 1791, and Nong'an County was formally created in 1889; locals also call the town Longwan (龙湾), "dragon bend".

What to see

The Nong'an Liao Pagoda (农安辽塔) is an octagonal brick pagoda of 13 storeys and more than 33 m, described by the county government as the earliest Buddhist pagoda built in Northeast China. It is a national key cultural relics protection site, as are the Wutaishan archaeological site (五台山遗址) and the Nong'an section of the Laobiangang earthen wall (老边岗土墙), listed as part of the Great Wall.

Bolo Lake (波罗湖) is a national wetland nature reserve, and Taipingchi Reservoir (太平池水库) is a national wetland park.

Setting and landscape

The land falls from the south-west to the north-east. Terraces at 200 to 220 m are widespread, rising above 270 m in the south-west, with fixed sandy ground north-west of the county town and river flats at 150 to 175 m along the waterways. The Songhua (松花江), Yitong and Xinkai (新凯河) rivers cross the county, which the county government places in the core of one of the world's three golden maize belts. Hongshila millet (红石砬小米) carries China's geographical indication mark.

Getting oriented

The Changchun–Baicheng railway (长白铁路), the G12 expressway and national roads G334 and G302 run north–south through the county, and the Changchun–Taiping expressway (长太高速) also crosses it. Kaixuan Road (凯旋路) and Qingnian Road (青年路), two main roads of Changchun, have been extended to Nong'an.

Highlights

• Nong'an Liao Pagoda 农安辽塔: Octagonal 13-storey brick pagoda over 33 m high, built under the Liao; a national key protected site.
• Bolo Lake 波罗湖: National wetland nature reserve in the county.
• Hongshila millet 红石砬小米: Millet with China's geographical indication mark.