Linqu County 临朐县

Setting and landscape

Mount Yi (沂山) rises 45 kilometres south of the county town, its main summit, Yuhuang Peak (玉皇顶), reaching 1,032 metres. The Mi River (弥河) starts at the foot of Mount Yi and is the county's main river; the Yeyuan Reservoir (冶源水库) on its upper course holds more water than any other reservoir in Linqu. The county counts more than 230 rivers and streams.

History

Linqu has been a county for more than 2,000 years. In the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods the area belonged to Qi (齐国) and was the fief of Guan Zhong (管仲); the Sui merged the counties of the area into a single Linqu County. The county lists 221 sites of the Beixin, Dawenkou and Longshan cultures and more than 130 protected monuments, among them the Great Wall of Qi (齐长城), the Northern Qi tomb of Cui Fen (崔芬墓), Northern Wei stone Buddhas and the Dongzhen stele forest (东镇碑林).

What to see

Mount Yi, also called Dongzhen (东镇, "guardian of the east"), is placed by the county government first among China's five guardian mountains; it is a national 5A scenic area and a national forest park. The Shiji (史记) records that the Yellow Emperor performed sacrifices on the mountain.

The Shanwang fossil beds (山旺化石) at Jiaoyan Mountain (角岩山) in Shanwang town, about 22 kilometres east of the county town, preserve insects, fish, birds, mammals and plants from the Miocene, about 18 million years ago. The diatomite shale splits into paper-thin layers, forty or fifty to a centimetre, which earned it the old name "ten thousand scrolls" (万卷书). The beds became a national nature reserve in 1980, and a national geopark was approved in 2001.

Laolong Bay (老龙湾), nicknamed "the Jiangnan of the north" (北国江南), is counted among China's 72 famous springs. The autumn leaves at Shimenfang (石门坊) are compared with those of the Fragrant Hills (香山) in Beijing.

Food and local products

Linqu's listed specialities include the whole-sheep banquet (临朐全羊席), Laolongwan trout (老龙湾鳟), large hawthorns from Sanshanyu (三山峪大山楂), red toona shoots from Sitou (寺头红香椿), Jiushan apples (九山苹果), Wujing black goats (五井黑山羊) and Hongsi inkstones (红丝砚). Ornamental stones, hand-painted New Year pictures, sculpture and rosewood work are named as its four main cultural industries.

Getting oriented

The Qingzhou–Linqu railway (青临铁路) connects the county with the Qingdao–Jinan line (胶济铁路). The Changchun–Shenzhen expressway (长深高速) crosses it from north to south, and the Jinan–Weifang expressway (济潍高速) runs through the north.

Highlights

• Mount Yi 沂山: 1,032-metre mountain 45 km south of the county town; national 5A scenic area and national forest park.
• Shanwang fossil beds 山旺化石: Miocene fossils about 18 million years old in paper-thin diatomite layers; national nature reserve since 1980.
• Laolong Bay 老龙湾: Spring counted among China's 72 famous springs.
• Shimenfang 石门坊: Known for autumn leaves compared with those of Beijing's Fragrant Hills.
• Hongsi inkstone 红丝砚: One of Linqu's ten listed specialities.