Laoling 乐陵市

Setting and landscape

The city sits on flat Yellow River alluvium of the North China Plain, 10 to 12 metres above sea level and falling gently from northwest to southeast. The Zhangwei New River (漳卫新河) forms the northern border with Hebei's Nanpi (南皮县) and Yanshan (盐山县) counties, and the Majia (马颊河) and Dehui New (德惠新河) rivers also cross the city, all within the Hai River basin.

History

The city government dates the county to 202 BC. Finds from the Wulizhong (五里冢) and Huiwangzhong (惠王冢) sites show people living here more than 4,000 years ago. The county became a county-level city in 1988. Early in the war against Japan, the Communist special committee of the Hebei–Shandong border region (冀鲁边区) met at the Confucian Temple to unify command and reorganise its troops.

What to see

The Confucian Temple (文庙) on Kaiyuan Road (开元路) was founded in 1369 and repaired under the Kangxi, Qianlong and Guangxu emperors. Its Hall of Great Achievement (大成殿), side halls, Chongsheng Shrine (崇圣祠) and education office survive, and it became a Shandong provincial protected site in 2006. The city government ranks it among the largest and best-preserved Confucian temples north of the Yangtze.

The Thousand-Year Jujube Grove (千年枣林) scenic area in Zhuji town (朱集镇), rated AAAA, holds more than a thousand jujube trees over a millennium old. Its Hundred Jujube Garden (百枣园), begun in 1992, gathers 596 varieties. One tree over 1,300 years old carries a legend that the Qianlong Emperor tasted its fruit on a southern tour and named it the "King of Jujubes" (枣王); the present stele is inscribed by the calligrapher Qi Gong (启功), described as an eighth-generation descendant of the emperor.

Food and local products

Jujubes, mainly golden-silk and seedless varieties, grow on 300,000 mu of orchards, and "Laoling golden-silk jujube" has national protected designation of origin. The fruit is processed into stuffed jujubes, rings and slices, jujube tea and jujube wine, and jujube wood is carved into root sculptures. The Laoling jujube grove system is listed among China's important agricultural heritage systems.

Highlights

• Confucian Temple 乐陵文庙: Founded 1369; Hall of Great Achievement and four other buildings survive; provincial protected site since 2006.
• Thousand-Year Jujube Grove 千年枣林: AAAA scenic area in Zhuji town with over a thousand jujube trees more than 1,000 years old.
• Laoling golden-silk jujube 乐陵金丝小枣: Protected designation of origin; also made into jujube tea and wine.