Hongtong County 洪洞县

Setting and history

The name comes from the 'Hong' cliff (洪崖) south of the town and the 'ancient cave' (古洞) to its north. The county's highest point is Laoyeding (老爷顶) on Mount Huo, at 2,347 metres, and the Huo Spring (霍泉) at Guangsheng Temple is the largest karst spring in the county. The area was Yang County (杨县) under the Qin and was renamed Hongtong in the second year of the Sui Yining (义宁) era. In 1954 it merged with Zhaocheng (赵城) County as Hongzhao County, which took back the name Hongtong in 1958. On 17 September 1303 a magnitude-8 earthquake struck Hongtong. The county government notes that early Zhou oracle-bone inscriptions found at Fangdui (坊堆) were the first of their kind discovered in China.

What to see

The Big Locust Tree Ancestral Park (大槐树寻根祭祖园), northwest of the county town, marks the site from which migrants were sent out in the Ming dynasty. It is a national 5A scenic area, and its ancestor-worship custom was placed on the national intangible heritage list in 2008. Its ancestral hall holds tablets for 1,230 migrant surnames.

Guangsheng Temple (广胜寺), 15 kilometres from the county town at the southern foot of Mount Huo, was among the first national heritage sites. The county dates its founding to AD 147 and its present name to a rebuild ordered by the Tang emperor Daizong. It has an Upper Temple, a Lower Temple and a Water God Temple, and is known for the Flying Rainbow Pagoda (飞虹塔), the Zhaocheng Jin Tripitaka (赵城金藏) and Yuan-dynasty murals of drama.

In the town, the Ming county prison, built in 1369, is called the Su San Prison (苏三监狱) after Su San (苏三), who was wrongly held there in the Zhengde reign; the county describes it as a complete surviving county-yamen prison. The Guandi Temple where she is said to have made her vow dates from 1306. Mount Li (历山), with its temple to the sage-king Shun, lies 20 kilometres west of town. The Wen family compound (温家大院) at Baishi (白石) was the home of the 1911 revolutionary Wen Shouquan (温寿泉), and the 'Song of the Guerrillas' (《游击队歌》) was written there.

Getting oriented

The Datong–Xi'an high-speed railway, the southern Tongpu Railway (南同蒲铁路), the Datong–Yuncheng Expressway and National Highway 108 run through the county from north to south.

Highlights

• Big Locust Tree Ancestral Park 洪洞大槐树寻根祭祖园: National 5A scenic area at the Ming migration site; its ancestor-worship custom is national intangible heritage (2008).
• Guangsheng Temple 广胜寺: Among the first national heritage sites; Flying Rainbow Pagoda, Zhaocheng Jin Tripitaka and Yuan drama murals.
• Ming county prison (Su San Prison) 明代监狱（苏三监狱）: Built in 1369; a complete surviving county-yamen prison.
• Wen family compound 白石温家大院: Home of Wen Shouquan at Baishi, where the 'Song of the Guerrillas' was written.