Jinxiang County 金乡县

Setting and landscape

Almost all of the county is floodplain left by the Yellow River, 34.5 to 39.5 metres above sea level and tilting from southwest to northeast. The only hills are Yang Hill (羊山), Ge Hill (葛山) and Guoshankou (郭山口) in Huji town (胡集镇): small limestone outcrops, 90 to 105 metres high, that stand like islands above the plain. Twenty-four rivers cross the county, and four of them, the Dongyu (东鱼河), Old Wanfu (老万福河), New Wanfu (新万福河) and Cai (蔡河), run directly into the lakes.

History

The county traces the area back to the state of Youmin (有缗国) in the Xia period; under the Qin it held the counties of Dongmin (东缗) and Changyi (昌邑). Jinxiang County itself was created in 25 AD, with its first seat at Achengpu (阿城铺), now inside Jiaxiang County (嘉祥县). In 621 the town became the seat of a short-lived Jin Prefecture (金州). The county explains the name 'gold village' through Jinshan (金山), a hill where gold was struck while a tomb was being cut for Liu He (刘贺), Prince of Changyi; that hill now lies in Juye County (巨野县).

What to see

The Yangshan Scenic Area (羊山景区) in Yangshan town (羊山镇) is rated 4A and listed among China's 100 classic sites of revolutionary tourism. The scenic area holds a martyrs' memorial tower bearing Mao Zedong's handwriting, statues of Liu Bocheng (刘伯承) and Deng Xiaoping (邓小平), who directed the Southwest Shandong Campaign (鲁西南战役), a campaign museum displaying Mao's handwritten telegrams, and the Wang Jie Memorial Hall (王杰纪念馆). In the new town, Jinshan Park (金山公园) was begun in 2012 around a 38-metre hill heaped from construction waste and lake spoil, which the county calls the highest man-made hill in Shandong.

Food and local products

The county records garlic growing here since the early Eastern Han. The local bulbs are large and white-skinned with moderate heat, and purple-skinned garlic is grown too. Jinxiang was named China's home of garlic in 1996, and its garlic is a national geographical-indication product. Processed forms include black garlic, fermented in its skin in hot, humid chambers, and Laba garlic (腊八蒜), cloves steeped in vinegar until they turn jade green.

Jinxiang roast mutton (金乡烧羊肉) dates from the Kangxi reign; it is eaten hot from the pot, or cold with its jelly stuffed into a sesame flatbread. The county traces Shanyang smoked fish (山阳熏鱼) to a Western Han marquis of Shanyang who had his catch smoked in the woods. Honeyed hongsandao (红三刀) is a fried pastry of sesame oil, malt, millet syrup, honey, sesame and osmanthus; its making joined the provincial intangible heritage list in 2024.

Highlights

• Yangshan Scenic Area 羊山景区: 4A-rated memorial area of the Southwest Shandong Campaign, with a campaign museum and the Wang Jie Memorial Hall.
• Jinshan Park 金山公园: Park begun in 2012 around a 38-metre artificial hill recalling the Gold Hill behind the county's name.
• Jinxiang garlic 金乡大蒜: National geographical-indication garlic; the county was named China's home of garlic in 1996.
• Jinxiang roast mutton 金乡烧羊肉: Kangxi-era dish eaten hot, or cold with its jelly inside a sesame flatbread.
• Honeyed hongsandao 蜜制红三刀: Fried sesame and honey pastry whose making is on the provincial intangible heritage list (2024).