Zhanhua District 沾化区

History

In 688, under the Tang, the town of Zhao'an (招安镇) was set up at what is now Gucheng town (古城镇). The Song made it a county in 1042, demoted it in 1073 and restored it in 1079. In 1195 the Jin renamed it Zhanhua, drawing on the story of Gong Sui (龚遂), a Han governor of Bohai recorded in the Book of Han. Work on a new county town south of Fuguo village (富国村) began in 1956, and the government left the old seat at Zhancheng (沾城) in autumn 1957. On 9 September 2014 Zhanhua County became a district of Binzhou.

Setting and getting oriented

The land slopes from higher ground in the southwest to lower ground in the northeast. National roads 205 and 340 cross the district, the Rongcheng–Wuhai Expressway (荣乌高速) passes through, and the Qinhuangdao–Binzhou Expressway (秦滨高速) ends here. The Binzhou port railway (滨港铁路), Dagao airport (大高机场) and Binzhou Port (滨州港) also serve the area.

Food and local products

Winter jujubes grow on about 300,000 mu (some 20,000 hectares) of orchards, according to a 2025 Xinhua report. Picking runs from late June to mid-October, and cold storage keeps fresh fruit available until the following January. The Zhanhua winter jujube is a national geographical-indication product, and local breeders have developed more than ten improved varieties such as Zhandong No. 2 (沾冬2号). Besides fresh fruit, the trees supply freeze-dried jujubes, tea, honey, pastry fillings and carving wood. Dried jujubes are also a Zhanhua product.

Yugu opera

Zhanhua Yugu opera (沾化渔鼓戏), entered on the national intangible heritage list in 2008 under daoqing opera (道情戏), began in Hujiaying village (胡家营村) in 1723, when Taoist priests were invited to perform sung storytelling at the rebuilding of the village temple. Villagers adapted their tunes, blending in yugu (渔鼓) chanting, local song and dance, martial arts and fishermen's work chants, and turned the storytelling into staged, costumed opera. Its lyrics run in groups of three lines, and it is also performed along the coast in Dongying (东营) and Huanghua (黄骅).

Highlights

• Zhanhua winter jujube 沾化冬枣: National geographical-indication fruit, picked from late June to mid-October.
• Zhanhua Yugu opera 沾化渔鼓戏: Staged opera that grew out of Taoist sung storytelling in Hujiaying village from 1723; national intangible heritage since 2008.