Gaizhou 盖州市

History

The first county here, Pingguo (平郭县), was set up by the Western Han in 195 BC on the site of the present old town. In 645 the Tang emperor Taizong (唐太宗) led his army in person and took Jian'an city (建安城). Under the Liao the prefecture was called Chenzhou (辰州); the Jin renamed it Gaizhou in 1195 because 'chen' (辰) sounded like Chen (陈), a dynastic name the Jin avoided. The Ming made it the Gaizhou Guard (盖州卫) in 1371 and built a new town the following year, and in 1664 the Qing created Gaiping County (盖平县), a name joining the first characters of Gaizhou and Pingguo. It became Gai County in 1965 and a city in 1992.

By the mid-Qing it was a trading crossroads of the Northeast; remains of guild halls of merchants from Fujian, Shandong and Shanxi survive.

What to see

In the old town the government lists a city wall more than 600 years old, the bell and drum towers, the Xuanzhen Taoist Temple (玄贞观) and the Ming–Qing Nanguan old town (南关古城). A scale model of the old town as it once was is kept in the Shen Yanyi Memorial Hall (沈延毅纪念馆).

On the coast, Liaoning Tuanshan National Marine Park (辽宁团山国家级海洋公园), rated 4A in 2017, has 2.2 kilometres of sea-eroded cliffs, arches and stacks called 'Dragon Palace Street' (龙宫一条街). On its red beach, seepweed (碱蓬草) covers nearly 3 kilometres of tidal flat and turns from red to purple in September and October. A beacon tower of 1418 stands 10 metres high.

Inland, Mount Chishan (赤山), a 4A scenic area 40 kilometres southeast of the city in Wanfu town (万福镇), has five peaks of exposed red-brown rock; the highest, Sanqing Peak (三清峰), reaches 891.1 metres. Longtan Temple (龙潭寺) sits below it, with a group of Ming and Qing brick stupas about a kilometre away. Shuangtai (双台) is a hot-spring resort town.

Food and local products

Gaizhou calls itself a fruit county, with apples, grapes, watermelons and peaches that have won national geographical-indication status. The government says it leads the country in processing and exporting jellyfish (海蜇), is the home of the Liaoning cashmere goat, and produces about 70 percent of China's tussah silk (柞蚕丝). Its intangible heritage includes Liao opera (辽剧), shadow puppetry, stilt yangge dancing, kites and moving lanterns.

Getting oriented

The Shenyang–Dalian railway stops at Gaizhou Station and the Harbin–Dalian high-speed line at Gaizhou West. The city borders the Bayuquan (鲅鱼圈) port area and has its own port at Xianrendao (仙人岛).

Highlights

• Gaizhou old town 盖州古城: City wall over 600 years old, bell and drum towers, Xuanzhen Taoist Temple and the Ming–Qing Nanguan quarter.
• Liaoning Tuanshan National Marine Park 辽宁团山国家级海洋公园: Sea-eroded cliffs over 2.2 km, a seepweed red beach and a beacon tower of 1418; national 4A since 2017.
• Mount Chishan 赤山: Five red-rock peaks up to 891.1 m, Longtan Temple and a Ming–Qing stupa group; national 4A.
• Tussah silk 柞蚕丝: The government puts Gaizhou's share of national tussah silk output at about 70 percent.