Yinan County 沂南县

History

Yinan is the birthplace of Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮), the Three Kingdoms statesman and strategist, and the ancestral home of the Tang calligrapher Yan Zhenqing (颜真卿). The ruins of the old city of Yangdu (阳都故城遗址) in Zhuanbu Town (砖埠镇) are a provincial heritage site. A phoenix inscription at Sanshangou (三山沟), from the Yuanfeng reign of the Western Han, is described as the earliest dated Han pictorial stone surviving in China. The Beizhai tombs (北寨汉画像石墓群), more than 1,800 years old, are a national key heritage site nicknamed the "little Dunhuang of Shandong".

In the war against Japan the county was called the "little Yan'an of Shandong". In August 1940 the Shandong Wartime Work Promotion Committee (山东省战时工作推行委员会), the first provincial-level government set up under Communist leadership, was founded at Qingtuo Temple (青驼寺). The county is also where the Red Sister-in-law (红嫂) spirit and the song Follow the Communist Party (跟着共产党走) were born. It was abolished in 1958 and restored in 1961.

What to see

Zhuquan village (竹泉村) in Tongjing Town (铜井镇) was called Quanshangzhuang in the Yuan and Ming and took its present name in the Qianlong reign of the Qing; springs rise from the hillside, bamboo grows around them and the houses are built of stone. Work on the Zhuquan scenic area began in 2008 and the villagers were moved to a new community; the county describes it as the first ancient-village scenic area in Shandong developed systematically, and it is rated 4A.

The Zhuge Liang Hometown Memorial Hall (诸葛亮故里纪念馆) stands in Zhuanbu Town, which holds a Zhuge Liang temple fair every May. The site of the Daqingshan breakout battle (大青山突围战遗址) is on the national list of key protected sites, and the Yimeng Red Sister-in-law Memorial Hall (沂蒙红嫂纪念馆) is given over entirely to the Red Sister-in-law story. The county also contains the Caimeng scenic area of Mount Meng (蒙山彩蒙景区) and the Menglianggu National Forest Park (孟良崮国家森林公园).

Food and local products

Jianbing (煎饼), the thin griddle pancake of the Yimeng area, is made from soaked wheat, sorghum, maize, millet or dried sweet potato ground to a batter, spread over a round iron griddle (鏊子) with a wooden paddle and lifted off with a spatula. One local story credits Zhuge Liang with inventing it. Zhuanbu Town is known for its strawberries and yellow peaches.

Getting oriented

The county lies 30 kilometres from Linyi airport. The Beijing–Shanghai, Rizhao–Dongming, Changchun–Shenzhen and Linyi–Linqing expressways, the Jiaozhou–Xinyi railway (胶新铁路) and National Highway 233 pass through.

Highlights

• Zhuquan village 竹泉村: Stone-built spring and bamboo village in Tongjing Town; 4A scenic area developed from 2008.
• Beizhai Han pictorial stone tombs 北寨汉画像石墓群: National key heritage site more than 1,800 years old.
• Old city of Yangdu 阳都故城遗址: Provincial heritage site in Zhuanbu Town, Zhuge Liang's birthplace.
• Zhuge Liang Hometown Memorial Hall 诸葛亮故里纪念馆: Memorial hall in Zhuanbu Town; a temple fair is held every May.
• Yimeng Red Sister-in-law Memorial Hall 沂蒙红嫂纪念馆: Memorial hall devoted to the Red Sister-in-law story.
• Jianbing 煎饼: Thin grain pancake spread on an iron griddle.