Kelan County 岢岚县

Setting and landscape

The land rises to the southeast and falls to the northwest. Its highest point is Heyeping (荷叶坪), the main peak of the Kelan Mountains in the east, at 2,784 metres, and the county town stands at 1,338 metres. The county media centre describes Heyeping as the largest subalpine meadow in North China. The Lanyi River (岚漪河) runs through the county, and brown eared pheasants, leopards and golden eagles live in the county.

History

The Sui set up the Kelan garrison (岢岚镇) in 607, and the Tang created Langu County (岚谷县) in 703. The Ming made Kelan a county in 1375 and raised it to a prefecture (州) the next year; it became a county again in 1912. The walled town was built as a military town under the Later Han around 947, enlarged in the Northern Song and faced with brick in the Ming.

During the war against Japan the provisional party committee for northwestern Shanxi was founded here. On 4 April 1948 Mao Zedong stopped in Kelan with the party leadership on the way to Xibaipo (西柏坡); the courtyard house on Gulou Street where he stayed is now a memorial hall.

What to see

The county calls its Song Great Wall (宋长城) the only Song-dynasty Great Wall in China. Work on it spanned the Northern Qi, Northern Zhou, Sui and Song, and it was completed under the Song. It runs from Qingcheng Mountain (青城山) east to Heyeping; its walls are laid from stone slabs and stand about 4.2 metres high where best preserved. It is a national 3A scenic area, as is the Kelan old town, whose bell and drum tower is one of Kelan's landmarks. Songjiagou (宋家沟), a village scenic area that keeps its architectural character intact, is rated 4A.

Food and local products

Gulou Street behind the bell and drum tower is Kelan's "mutton street", lined with grey-brick, tile-roofed buildings. Kelan cypress-seed mutton (岢岚柏籽羊肉) gained national geographical-indication status in 2012 and is known for lacking a strong muttony smell. The county also sells red kidney beans under the "Zhonghua red kidney bean" (中华红芸豆) brand, raises Jinlan cashmere goats (晋岚绒山羊) and makes 14 kinds of sea buckthorn (沙棘) products.

Highlights

• Song Great Wall 宋长城: Stone-slab wall from Qingcheng Mountain to Heyeping, completed under the Song; national 3A scenic area.
• Kelan old town 岢岚古城: Military town founded under the Later Han around 947, bricked in the Ming; national 3A scenic area.
• Heyeping 荷叶坪: The county's highest peak at 2,784 metres, described locally as North China's largest subalpine meadow.
• Songjiagou 宋家沟: Village scenic area rated national 4A.
• Kelan cypress-seed mutton 岢岚柏籽羊肉: National geographical indication since 2012.