Ping'an District 平安区

Setting and landscape

The ground climbs in steps from north to south, from 2,045 metres at the Zhangjiazhai (张家寨) river bend to 4,189 metres on the summit of Ayi Mountain (阿伊山); Qingsha Mountain (青沙山) marks the southern border with Hualong. The Huangshui runs for 31.2 km through the district. Surveys in 2010 found more than 600 square kilometres of selenium-rich soil, and in 2021 the Geological Society of China certified natural selenium-rich land at Sanhe (三合镇) and Hongshuiquan (洪水泉回族乡).

History

Thirty late-Neolithic Majiayao culture (马家窑文化) sites show people living in the Huangshui valley between 5000 and 3500 BC. The Han brought the area under their rule in 111 BC and set up Anyi County (安夷县) in 60 BC. The town was later known as Zongge and Longzhi under the Tang and Song, Pingrong under the Ming, and Ping'an post station (平安驿) under the Qing. Ping'an County was carved out of Huangzhong in 1978 and became a district in 2015.

What to see

Xiazong Monastery (夏宗寺), at Wayaotai village in Sanhe, 25 km from the district seat, is counted as one of the "four monasteries of Amdo"; the district government records that Tsongkhapa (宗喀巴), founder of the Gelug school, took his vows here at the end of the Yuan. Xiaqun Forest Park (峡群森林公园), the district's only natural secondary forest, covers 3,558 hectares, combines woodland with a monastery, and holds a hua'er folk-song festival on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month. Hongshuiquan Mosque (洪水泉清真寺), begun in the Qianlong reign and on the provincial heritage list, has a design the district government calls unique in Qinghai. At Zhangjiazhai village, 5 km north-east of Ping'an town, the 4A-rated Ping'anyi scenic area, created in 2020, includes the Yuanjia Village–Hehuang Impressions (袁家村·河湟印象) project, which presents the customs of eighteen of Haidong's ethnic groups.

The flower-field scenic area at Shibei village (石碑村) in Gucheng Hui Township (古城回族乡) serves Shibei mianpian noodles (石碑面片), the Qinghai "eight old dishes" (老八盘) and roast whole lamb. Sacrificial dances such as "Five Ghosts Carrying Lamps" (五鬼顶灯) are performed in Gucheng, Sanhe and Bazanggou (巴藏沟) as prayers for good harvests and peace.

Getting oriented

Ping'an borders Ledu to the east, Huangzhong and Xining to the west and Hualong to the south, with Huzhu across the Huangshui to the north. The Lanzhou–Qinghai railway, the Lanzhou–Xinjiang high-speed railway and national road 109 run east–west through it; trains stop at Ping'anyi station and Haidong West station.

Highlights

• Xiazong Monastery 夏宗寺: One of the four monasteries of Amdo, where Tsongkhapa took his vows at the end of the Yuan.
• Xiaqun Forest Park 峡群森林公园: The district's only natural secondary forest, with a monastery and a hua'er festival in the sixth lunar month.
• Hongshuiquan Mosque 洪水泉清真寺: Qianlong-era mosque on the provincial heritage list, with a design described as unique in Qinghai.
• Ping'anyi scenic area 平安驿: 4A scenic area created in 2020 at Zhangjiazhai village; its Yuanjia Village–Hehuang Impressions project presents the customs of eighteen ethnic groups.