Shenmu City 神木市

Setting and landscape

The land lies where the loess hills give way to the Inner Mongolian grasslands. South of the Ming wall are gullied hills; north of it, wind-blown sand and grassy flats, each covering roughly half the city. The Yellow River flows 98 kilometres through Shenmu, and two of its tributaries, the Kuye River (窟野河) and the Tuwei River (秃尾河), drain most of the territory. Hongjiannao (红碱淖), 70 kilometres north-west of the city, is listed by the city government as the country's largest desert freshwater lake and the world's largest breeding ground of the relict gull (遗鸥).

History

The Daoguang-era county gazetteer records a tradition that three large pines of Tang date stood outside the old Linzhou (麟州) city and were called 'divine trees' (神木); a Jin dynasty fort and then a Yuan county took the name, and the county was established in 1269. Linzhou was the home of the Northern Song general Yang Ye (杨业) and the Yang family generals (杨家将). Shenmu became a county-level city in 2017.

What to see

The Shimao site (石峁遗址) at Gaojiabao (高家堡), dated to 4300 to 3800 years ago, is a stone-walled city of the late Longshan to early Xia period, with the Huangchengtai (皇城台) platform and inner and outer walls enclosing more than four million square metres. It became a national archaeological park in 2022 and joined China's tentative World Heritage list in 2024.

Gaojiabao Old Town (高家堡古城), on the east bank of the Tuwei River, was walled in 1439 and faced with brick in 1608; its streets radiate from the Zhongxing Tower (中兴楼). Yangjiacheng (杨家城), five kilometres north-east of the city, is the Linzhou city founded in 742 and the Yang family's home. Erlang Mountain (二郎山), on the west bank of the Kuye, carries temple halls and pavilions from the Ming and Qing onwards, more than a hundred rooms in all, and is a provincial protected site. In Shenmu Old Town (神木老城), the Kaige Tower (凯歌楼) survives at the centre with some Ming and Qing houses, several of which keep the layout of late Ming and early Qing courtyard homes.

Highlights

• Shimao Site 石峁遗址: Stone-walled city of 4300-3800 years ago; national archaeological park since 2022.
• Hongjiannao 红碱淖: Desert freshwater lake and national nature reserve, breeding ground of the relict gull.
• Gaojiabao Old Town 高家堡古城: Ming walled town built in 1439 on the Tuwei River.
• Yangjiacheng 杨家城: Site of Tang-era Linzhou and home of the Yang family generals.
• Erlang Mountain 二郎山: Hill of Ming and Qing temple buildings above the Kuye River; provincial protected site.