Xunyang 旬阳市

Setting and landscape

The Han valley splits Xunyang in two. North of the river are the southern slopes of the Qinling, covering 64.2% of the land; south of it is the outer edge of the Daba Mountains arc. The land forms a V-shaped profile from 185 to 2,358.4 metres, mostly middle-height mountains cut by dense gullies. The two ranges block cold northern air and hold warm, moist air moving up the valley, giving a northern subtropical climate.

History

Xunyang takes its name from the Xun River. Under the Qin a pass, Xunguan (旬关), and a county were set up where the Xun enters the Han. The county was abolished under the Yuan and restored in 1370, and in 1476 Baihe (白河) County was split off, roughly fixing today's boundaries. In 1964 the State Council approved replacing the name's first character (洵 with 旬); Chinese Wikipedia calls the old character rare and hard to read. The county became a county-level city in 2021.

What to see

The Xun River bends through the city in a shape likened to the Taoist taiji (yin-yang) symbol, so the town is also called Taiji City (太极城), promoted as a cultural brand since 2007. At Wangjiashan (王家山) in Chengguan town (城关镇) is the tomb of Meng Da (孟达墓), a Three Kingdoms general killed by Sima Yi (司马懿): a mound about 3 metres high, said to be a cenotaph and protected at provincial level. Beside it stands the six-sided, five-level Wenxing Pagoda (文星塔) of 1875.

Shuhe (蜀河镇), on the Han where Xunyang, Baihe and Yunxi (郧西) in Hubei meet, was known as "little Hankou" (小汉口); the Qing governor Bi Yuan (毕沅) called it a place where goods from water and land were unloaded. Its Huangzhou Guild Hall (黄州馆) and Yangsi Temple (杨泗庙) still draw crowds along stone-paved lanes. North of Taiji City on Tiyan Mountain (梯岩山), Nezha Cave (哪吒洞) is a two-level limestone cave 968 metres long, with swirl patterns on its roof.

Food and local products

Local cooking mixes northern, southern, Sichuan and Hunan styles and favours sour, spicy tastes. Its signature is the Shuhe Eight Great Dishes (蜀河八大件), a banquet of eight cold and eight hot dishes. The cold course is four meat and four vegetable dishes around a large central plate, where portions are tossed with dressing into "he cai" (和菜, mixed dish); the hot course is four soups and four stir-fries. The banquet has Han and Hui (Muslim) versions.

Highlights

• Tomb of Meng Da 孟达墓: Cenotaph mound of a Three Kingdoms general, protected at provincial level.
• Shuhe 蜀河镇: Han River trading town once known as "little Hankou".
• Nezha Cave 哪吒洞: A two-level limestone cave 968 metres long on Tiyan Mountain.
• Shuhe Eight Great Dishes 蜀河八大件: A banquet of eight cold and eight hot dishes, in Han and Hui versions.