Weishan Yi and Hui Autonomous County 巍山彝族回族自治县

Setting and landscape

The northern Ailao range forms the east of the county and the northern Wuliang range its centre, with the Weishan basin between them. The Wuliang is the watershed: the west drains to the Yangbi River (漾濞江) and the Mekong system, the east to the Yuan River (元江), the upper Red River, whose source lies in Yongjian (永建镇) in the north-west of the county. The county town stands at 1,725 metres.

History

Nanzhao was founded here in the Tang and had its early capital in the area. The Yuan made it Menghua prefecture (蒙化府) in 1274, and the name Menghua lasted until the county was renamed Weishan in 1954. In 1956 the county was split into a Yi autonomous county and the Yongjian Hui autonomous county (永建回族自治县), which merged in 1958 to form the present Yi and Hui county. Weishan was named a national historic and cultural city in 1994.

What to see

Weishan Old Town (巍山古城), the county seat at Nanzhao Town (南诏镇), was built in the early Ming on a square chessboard plan, and most of its houses keep their Ming and Qing appearance. Its Nanzhao Street (南诏古街) was named a famous historic street of China in 2011, and the Nanzhao Town building group, which includes the Yuhuang Pavilion (玉皇阁), Wenhua Academy (文华书院) and Xiaogong Shrine (萧公祠), is a national protected site together with Dengjue Temple (等觉寺). Gongchen Tower (拱辰楼), over the north gate, was destroyed by fire on 3 January 2015. Southeast of town, Weibao Mountain is a Taoist mountain with 22 Ming and Qing temples; its Changchun Cave (长春洞) is a national protected site, and the mountain became a national forest park in 1992. The Nanzhao Tuzhu Temple (南诏土主庙) on the mountain is an important Yi ancestral shrine; since a 2007 ceremony there, the county has made the first half of the second lunar month a yearly Yi ancestor festival.

Food and local products

Weishan braised-pork rice noodles (巍山扒肉饵丝) start many local mornings, according to the Dali prefecture government: pork hind leg, hock and belly are charcoal-roasted, scraped and stewed until tender, and the noodles, made from the local huanggu rice (黄谷米), are softened in boiling water and served with a ladle of the broth. Weishan tie-dye (扎染) was first shown at the Beijing international trade fair in 1985, and in 2003 the Ministry of Culture named Weishan a home of Chinese folk tie-dye art.

Highlights

• Weishan Old Town 巍山古城: Early-Ming town on a square chessboard plan with Ming and Qing houses.
• Weibao Mountain 巍宝山: Taoist mountain with 22 Ming and Qing temples; national forest park since 1992.
• Changchun Cave 长春洞: Taoist temple on Weibao Mountain listed as a national protected site.
• Dengjue Temple 等觉寺: National protected site in the old town.
• Weishan braised-pork rice noodles 巍山扒肉饵丝: Charcoal-roasted, stewed pork with huanggu rice noodles in broth.
• Weishan tie-dye 巍山扎染: Folk craft; Weishan named a home of Chinese folk tie-dye art in 2003.