Fenxi County 汾西县

Setting and landscape

The county government describes Fenxi as typical loess-plateau country of eroded tablelands and gullies. The county is known for check-dam farming: 63,000 mu of stable, high-yield fields have been built up behind dams in the gullies, and the county government calls Fenxi the birthplace of this system. The county seat is Yong'an (永安镇).

History

A county was first set up here under the Northern Qi, named Linfen and serving as the seat of Fenxi commandery; the Sui dynasty renamed it Fenxi. The county government uses the title 'thousand-year-old town' for it.

What to see

Shijiagou (师家沟), in Sengnian (僧念镇) town, is a village of the Shi family. The village was founded in the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty and had grown large by the Tongzhi reign. It is built into a slope with a hill behind it and a gully in front, and its houses are mainly brick buildings and cave dwellings, mostly arranged around three- or four-sided courtyards. The Old Buildings of Shijiagou were listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level in 2006, the village became a Chinese Historic and Cultural Village in 2008, and the Linfen city government lists the Shijiagou scenic area at national 3A level.

Provincial heritage sites in the county include the Zhenwu Shrine (真武祠) on Mount Gushe (姑射山), with Yuan, Ming and Qing buildings; the Ming and Qing Guanyin Pavilion at Li'anzhuang (李安庄观音阁); and the Jiutian Shengmu Temple at Xiatuanbai (下团柏九天圣母庙). Another provincial site is at Liujiazhuang (刘家庄) in Duizhu (对竹镇), where the underground party of the Fenxi anti-Japanese guerrilla detachment was active from 1937 to 1946.

Getting oriented

Fenxi sits where three prefecture-level cities, Linfen, Jinzhong (晋中) and Lüliang (吕梁), meet, bordered by Huozhou (霍州), Hongtong (洪洞), Pu (蒲县), Xi (隰县), Lingshi (灵石) and Jiaokou (交口). National Highway 341 runs through it from north to south and the Huoyong Expressway (霍永高速) crosses it from east to west. The Linfen city government counts it among the seven counties of its Yellow River belt.

Highlights

• Old Buildings of Shijiagou 师家沟古建筑群: Qing-dynasty village of brick houses and cave dwellings; national heritage listing in 2006 and a national 3A scenic area.
• Zhenwu Shrine 真武祠: Yuan, Ming and Qing buildings on Mount Gushe; a provincial heritage site since 2004.
• Jiutian Shengmu Temple at Xiatuanbai 下团柏九天圣母庙: Yuan, Ming and Qing temple; a provincial heritage site since 2021.