Pingyi County 平邑县

History

The county counts more than 3,000 years as a walled town. In the Western Zhou it belonged to the state of Zhuanyu (颛臾), and its name comes from Ji Pingzi (季平子), a Lu minister of the Spring and Autumn period who held it as his fief. The Western Han set up Nanwuyang (南武阳) and Nancheng (南城) counties here; in 598 the Sui renamed Wuyang county Zhuanyu, and in 627 the Tang merged it into Fei. The present county began in 1940 as Feinan (费南县) and took the name Pingyi on 16 April 1946.

Five of Confucius's seventy-two disciples, among them Zengzi (曾子) and Zhong You (仲由), were born here, as were the strategist Yang Hu (羊祜) and the general Zuo Baogui (左宝贵). Since the reform era Jiujianpeng (九间棚) has been known across China for what is called the Jiujianpeng phenomenon.

What to see

The Mount Meng scenic area in Bianqiao Town (卞桥镇), on the mountain anciently called Dongmeng or Dongshan, is rated 5A; the county lists it as the Guimeng Scenic Area of Mount Yimeng (沂蒙山龟蒙景区). Its Longevity Immortal (蒙山寿仙) is described by the county as the largest carving on a mountain in the world. On the southern foot of the mountain, beside the Taoist temple of Wanshou Palace (万寿宫), the private Dongshan Folk Museum (东山民俗博物馆) shows nearly ten thousand objects of Yimeng folk life, from farm tools to wedding and festival customs.

The Shandong Tianyu Natural History Museum (天宇自然博物馆), opened in 2004, fills 28 halls with more than 390,000 fossils, minerals and gems. The Pingyi County Museum (平邑县博物馆) in Lianhuashan Park (莲花山公园) displays two Han pillar gates, the Huang Shengqing Que (皇圣卿阙) and the Gongcao Que (功曹阙), and holds Han pictorial stones. Jiujianpeng is a 4A scenic area.

Food and local products

Pingyi is known as China's home of honeysuckle and of granite and calls itself the canned-food capital of China. Five local products carry geographical indication marks: Pingyi honeysuckle (平邑金银花), Wutai yellow peaches (武台黄桃), Tianbaoshan hawthorns (天宝山山楂), Tianbaoshan yellow pears (天宝山黄梨) and Mengshan black goats (蒙山黑山羊).

Getting oriented

The Yanzhou–Shijiusuo railway (兖石铁路) stops at Pingyi station and the Rizhao–Lankao high-speed railway (日兰高速铁路) at Mengshan station. The Rizhao–Lankao, Binzhou–Taierzhuang and Linyi–Tengzhou expressways and National Highway 327 cross the county.

Highlights

• Guimeng Scenic Area of Mount Yimeng 沂蒙山龟蒙景区: 5A area on Mount Meng in Bianqiao Town, below the 1,156-metre Guimeng Peak.
• Tianyu Natural History Museum 天宇自然博物馆: Opened in 2004; 28 halls and more than 390,000 specimens.
• Pingyi County Museum 平邑县博物馆: In Lianhuashan Park; shows the Han pillar gates of Huang Shengqing and the Gongcao.
• Dongshan Folk Museum 东山民俗博物馆: Nearly ten thousand folk objects at the southern foot of Mount Meng.
• Pingyi honeysuckle 平邑金银花: Geographical indication product of China's home of honeysuckle.