Shimian County 石棉县

Setting and landscape

The county government calls Shimian an "ethnic corridor" on the route from inland China towards Yunnan and Tibet; Han, Yi and Tibetan people are among its 28 nationalities. Parts of the Gongga Mountain (贡嘎山) and Liziping (栗子坪) national nature reserves lie within it, and nine giant pandas have been released into the wild here. The Tianwan River (田湾河) rises on the southern slopes of Gongga, with more than ten permanently snow-capped peaks above 5,000 m along its valley.

History

The central government approved the new county on 9 May 1952, carved out of districts of Hanyuan and Yuexi, as part of Xikang (西康) province; it passed to Sichuan when Xikang was abolished in 1955. Before that, the north bank here was Hanyuan land in the Republican years; the south bank, under local chieftains until 1928, then joined Yuexi. In 1935 the main force of the Red Army forced its crossing of the Dadu at Anshunchang (安顺场), now in the county.

What to see

Anshunchang is a 4A scenic area with the Memorial Hall of the Red Army's Forced Crossing of the Dadu River (中国工农红军强渡大渡河纪念馆) and an old street, where the musical play "Anshun Memory" is staged in front of the Red Army command building. Wanggangping (王岗坪), which rises from 1,000 to 3,660 m, lies about 30 km in a straight line from the main peak of Gongga and is visited for sunrise on the snow peaks and seas of cloud. Menghuo City (孟获城), a high meadow at about 2,600 m, is linked to the legend of Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮) capturing Meng Huo (孟获) seven times and, according to People's Daily Online, saw the world's first release of a translocated wild giant panda. Xieluo Baozi (蟹螺堡子) is the county's largest settlement of Ersu Tibetans (尔苏藏族), and is on China's first list of traditional villages.

Food and local products

Shimian barbecue (石棉烧烤) took shape between the late 1980s and early 1990s and now comes in four styles: iron-plate grilling known as "huo shang piao" (火上飘, "floating over the fire"), grilling on a mesh, skewers and pot-lid grilling. Laoying tea (老鹰茶) is a Chinese geographical-indication product.

Getting oriented

Shimian borders Hanyuan and Ganluo to the east, Yuexi and Mianning to the south, Jiulong and Kangding to the west and Luding to the north. National road 108, provincial road 217 and the G5 Beijing–Kunming expressway, opened in 2012, meet at the county town.

Highlights

• Anshunchang 安顺场: 4A area and memorial hall at the site of the Red Army's 1935 crossing of the Dadu.
• Wanggangping 王岗坪: Mountain viewpoint about 30 km in a straight line from Gongga's main peak.
• Menghuo City 孟获城: High meadow at about 2,600 m, linked to the legend of Zhuge Liang and Meng Huo.
• Xieluo Baozi 蟹螺堡子: Largest Ersu Tibetan settlement in the county, on China's first list of traditional villages.
• Shimian barbecue 石棉烧烤: Local barbecue in four styles, dating from the late 1980s.