Yangxin County 阳信县

History

The name is traced to the Han general Han Xin (韩信), who is said to have camped his troops on the north bank of the old Gudu River (古笃河) during his campaign from Yan against Qi. After the Yongjia disorder (永嘉之乱) cost the Jin dynasty most of the north, the Jin official Shao Xu (邵续) held out for a long time in the city of Yanci (厌次), which lay within today's county. Pu Songling (蒲松龄) set his ghost tale "The Corpse Transformation" (尸变), from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, in this area.

Food and local products

Yali pears cover about 7,300 hectares, more than 86 percent of the county's pear orchards, according to Economic Daily in 2015, and growers have shown little interest in grafting their trees over to newly introduced varieties such as Hosui. Local firms turn the fruit into more than 20 products, among them pear-blossom tea, pear juice and preserved pears, and more than 160 cold stores allow the pears to be sold all year rather than only in September and October.

What to see

The Wanmu Pear Orchard (万亩梨园) scenic area, the core growing district, was rated a national AAA scenic area, Economic Daily reported in 2015. It is one of the venues of the Pear Blossom Fair (梨花会), first held in 1990; the 37th fair ran from 4 to 6 April 2026 together with the Yellow River Delta folk culture festival, with street parades, intangible-heritage demonstrations and an antiques exchange.

Yangxin Guzi yangge (阳信鼓子秧歌), a drum-led folk dance, was added to the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2011. Troupes of at least 32 dancers, carrying umbrellas, drums and sticks alongside female "flower" roles, run through battle formations that act out an ancient military drill; old performers say the dance tells of the strategists Sun Bin (孙膑) and Pang Juan (庞涓). A drum one metre across leads the music, and its three-, five- and seven-beat patterns set the Yangxin style apart from other Shandong drum yangge.

Highlights

• Wanmu Pear Orchard 万亩梨园: Core Yali pear district, rated a national AAA scenic area and a venue of the Pear Blossom Fair, first held in 1990.
• Yangxin Guzi yangge 阳信鼓子秧歌: Drum-led formation dance on the national intangible heritage list since 2011.
• Yali pear 鸭梨: The county's defining crop, also made into pear-blossom tea, juice and preserved pears.