Junan County 莒南县

History

The area belonged to the small state of Xiang (向国) in the Western Zhou and then to the state of Ju (莒国), which absorbed it; the county describes itself as the birthplace of the ancient state of Ju. The Chengzi old city site (城子古城遗址) has been identified as Quqiu (渠丘), one of Ju's capitals in the Spring and Autumn period. Under the Qing most of the area belonged to Ju prefecture (莒州), and the Junan County anti-Japanese democratic government was set up on 1 January 1941.

From 1941, when the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army (八路军) arrived, until 1945, Junan was the command centre of the Communist Party, government and army in Shandong. In August 1945 the Shandong provincial government, the first provincial government under Communist leadership, was proclaimed at Dadian (大店镇).

What to see

At Dadian, the former seats of the Shandong provincial government and the 115th Division headquarters form a national key protected site and 4A scenic area, which also takes in the former homes of Zhuang Yao (庄瑶) and Zhuang Gailan (庄陔兰). At the same address, the Zhuang family manor (庄氏庄园) covers 60,000 square metres; from the Ming dynasty to the Republic the Zhuang clan of Dadian built its standing on farming and education.

North of the county town, the Tianfo scenic area (天佛风景区) is named after a natural reclining Buddha: a 3,800-metre line of hills that reads as a sleeping figure, part of the Yimengshan National Geopark. Wuji Guigu (无极鬼谷) in Zhulu Town (朱芦镇) is a 4A scenic area themed on the philosopher Guiguzi (鬼谷子), and Tianma Island (天马岛) in Laopo Town (涝坡镇) is surrounded by lakes on three sides, and its main peak rises to 662.2 metres. At Mapeng Guanzhuang (马棚官庄) the writer Liu Zhixia (刘知侠) wrote the novel Railway Guerrillas (铁道游击队) during the war against Japan.

Food and local products

Vegetable jianbing (菜煎饼) is Junan's best-known snack: a filling of vermicelli, tofu, garlic chives, cabbage and carrot is stir-fried until half-cooked on a small iron griddle, laid between sheets of jianbing, cooked on both sides over a low flame and folded into a rectangle. The county also lists Junan donkey meat (莒南驴肉), Dongxiang shredded chicken (东乡搓鸡), Dadian jelly noodles (大店凉粉) and Banquan flatbread (板泉大饼), and it grows peanuts, green tea, chestnuts and strawberries.

Highlights

• Former Shandong Provincial Government and 115th Division Headquarters 山东省政府和八路军115师司令部旧址: National key protected site at Dadian, where the provincial government was proclaimed in August 1945.
• Tianfo scenic area 天佛风景区: Hills north of the county town that form a 3,800-metre natural reclining Buddha.
• Wuji Guigu 无极鬼谷: 4A scenic area in Zhulu Town themed on Guiguzi.
• Vegetable jianbing 菜煎饼: Jianbing filled with stir-fried vermicelli, tofu and vegetables, cooked on both sides on a griddle and folded into a rectangle.