Xinjiang County 新绛县

History

Northern Zhou rulers gave the area the name Jiangzhou, and in 1912, when the prefecture became a county, it was called Xinjiang, 'new Jiang', because a Jiang County (绛县) already existed. The walled county seat, Longxing (龙兴镇), is known as the 'Lying Ox City' (卧牛城): its north-south main street is the ox's spine, the side lanes its ribs, two large ponds east and west its eyes and the Tang pagoda in the north its tail. The walls were rebuilt under the Yuan. Old Jiangzhou stood where the Fen met a post road and was a river port known for casting and crafts; under the Tang it was a major mint.

What to see

The Jiangzhou Hall (绛州大堂), on high ground in the west of the town inside Xinjiang Middle School, is the surviving main hall of the old prefectural office (绛州署), rebuilt under the Yuan. Seven bays and 30 metres wide, it is larger than the usual five-bay hall of a prefecture, and a stone tablet of 1101 listing seven rules for officials is set into its north wall. It has been nationally protected since 1996, with the town's bell, drum and music towers added in 2001.

Longxing Temple (龙兴寺), at the end of North Street, is the tallest structure in the town. Founded in the early Tang as the Biluo Taoist temple (碧落观), it became Longxing Temple in 670. Its octagonal brick pagoda was raised to thirteen storeys and 42.4 metres when it was rebuilt in 1784, and the Yuan main hall holds seven painted statues 4.5 metres tall.

Jiyi Temple (稷益庙), in Yangwang town (阳王镇) 15 kilometres south-west of the county town, honours Houji (后稷) and Boyi (伯益). Its main hall is painted on three sides with 131 square metres of murals completed in 1507, showing more than 400 figures from the legends of the Three Sovereigns, Yu the Great, Houji and Boyi.

Crafts and local traditions

Jiangzhou drum music (绛州鼓乐), listed as national intangible heritage in 2006, is played on sets of drums of different shapes using more than a dozen techniques, such as striking the rim, rubbing the drumhead and knocking the drum rings. Jiangzhou Chengni inkstones (澄泥砚), listed in 2008, are fired pottery inkstones made from silt taken from a bend of the Fen, and come in colours with names such as 'eel yellow' and 'rose purple'. The county's other national listings include dough figures (面花) and carved lacquer (剔犀).

Highlights

• Jiangzhou Hall 绛州大堂: Yuan-era main hall of the old prefectural office; national protected site since 1996.
• Longxing Temple 龙兴寺: Temple with a 42.4-metre, thirteen-storey brick pagoda rebuilt in 1784.
• Jiyi Temple 稷益庙: Main hall with 131 square metres of Ming murals completed in 1507.
• Jiangzhou drum music 绛州鼓乐: Drum ensemble tradition; national intangible heritage since 2006.
• Chengni inkstones 澄泥砚: Fired inkstones made from Fen River silt; national intangible heritage since 2008.