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Introduction to Zunyi, China

Introduction to Zunyi, a famous historical and cultural city in Guizhou

Zunyi, referred to as “Zun“, is located in the northern part of Guizhou Province, the central city at the junction of the three provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan, and Chongqing. It is a national tourism demonstration area. It borders Guiyang City in the south, Chongqing City in the north, and Luzhou City in Sichuan Province in the west.

It is located in the core area and main corridor of the Chengdu-Chongqing-Central Guizhou Economic Zone Corridor, the bridgehead, main position and pioneer area for the cooperation between Guizhou and Chongqing. It is an important transportation hub in the southwest region to undertake the north and the south, connect the east and west, and connect the river to the sea.

Zunyi is one of the first batch of national historical and cultural cities, with the world cultural heritage Hailongtun and the world natural heritage Chishui Danxia. It enjoys the titles of China’s Hometown of Longevity, China’s Hometown of Magnolia, China’s Hometown of Honeysuckle, China’s High-Quality Green Tea Production Area, China’s Hometown of Famous Tea, and China’s Hometown of Guitar Manufacturing.

It has won many honors such as National Civilized City, National Forest City, National Sanitary City, Double Support Model City, China’s Excellent Tourism City, and National Garden City. At the same time, it is also the hometown of Maotai, one of China’s three famous wines, “Mao Wujian”.

In 1935, the Communist Party of China held the famous “Zunyi Conference” in Zunyi, which became a turning point in the life and death of the party, known as “the city of turning points, the capital of conferences”.

Zunyi history and culture

1. Historical evolution

In ancient times, there were human habitation and reproduction in Zunyi area. The human tooth fossils found at the Paleolithic human cultural site in Yanhuidong, Tongzi County have been scientifically determined to be between 206,000 and 240,000 years ago. In the Neolithic human site of Ma’anshan, Tongzi County, a large number of stone tools and bone tools have also been unearthed, as well as rich fire-use remains, dating back 18,000 years. In Chishui City and Xishui County in the Chishui River Basin, many ancient human tools such as stone axes, stone adzes and stone nets have been found successively.

During the Spring and Autumn Period from the 8th to the 5th century BC, the areas under the jurisdiction of Zunyi City belonged to states such as Pengke, Ba, Shu, Turtle and Eel. During the Warring States Period, today’s Zunyi area belonged to the “Da Yelang Kingdom”.

In the fifth year of Yuanguang in the Western Han Dynasty (130 BC), Qian was set up as a county, and the county was governed by Bie County, which is near the city center of Zunyi today. In the sixth year of Yuanding (111 BC), the county of Yelang was established in Yelang, and the name of “Yelang Kingdom”, which existed as a state for more than 250 years, disappeared.

The name of Yelang County was abolished during the Five Dynasties, restored during the Northern Song Dynasty, and abolished in the second year of Xuanhe (1120), and it has been in existence for 480 years. Since then, the name of “Yelang” county has never appeared again in Chinese history. The names of states and counties as secondary administrative districts have been changed frequently in the past dynasties.

In the thirteenth year of Tang Zhenguan (639), Langzhou in the Sui Dynasty was renamed Bozhou, and it governed a large area in northern Guizhou. The name of Bozhou has existed for 962 years after the Five Dynasties, Song and Yuan Dynasties to the end of Ming Dynasty. Therefore, people often use “Bozhou” to refer to the ancient Zunyi.

In the 16th year of Tang Zhenguan (642), Luomeng County under Bozhou was renamed Zunyi County. This is the earliest appearance of the name “Zunyi”. The name of Zunyi has been used for 1364 years. In addition to the county name, historically there have been Zunyi Village, Zunyi Army, Zunyi Military and Civilian Mansion, Zunyi Mansion, Zunyi Special Area, Zunyi Administrative Office, Zunyi City and other organizational names. During the 725 years from the end of Tang Dynasty to the end of Ming Dynasty, Bozhou was hereditarily ruled by the chieftain of the Yang clan.

At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, Yang Wengui, a native of Bozhou, donated their lands to them. During the Southern Song Dynasty in 1239, it belonged to Kuizhou Road, one of the four Chuanxia Roads.

Yuan is Bozhou Xuanwei Division. Hongwu five years (1372) belonged to Sichuan Province, fifteen years (1382) changed to Guizhou Dusi, twenty-seven years (1394) changed to Sichuan Chenghuan political envoys.

After the “Battle of Pingbo” in the twenty-eighth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1600), the chieftain system was abolished, and “returning the land to the current state” was implemented. , Guizhou Province. In the twenty-ninth year of Wanli (1601), the Zunyi Military and Civilian Mansion was relocated and relocated to Xuanwei Sixibaitianba.

During the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, the word “military and civilian” was abolished, and it was directly called Zunyi House. Today, most of Zunyi City belongs to these two houses, and some areas belong to Shiqian House and Sinan House. In the fifth year of Emperor Yongzheng’s reign (1727), Zunyi Prefecture was placed under the jurisdiction of Guizhou Province from Sichuan Province.

In the early years of the Republic of China, the establishment of the “fu” was abolished. In the 24th year of the Republic of China (1935), Guizhou Province set up 11 administrative inspectorate districts, and more than ten counties in northern Guizhou were the fifth administrative inspectorate district.

In November 1949, Zunyi was liberated, and the “Fifth Administrative Inspectorate” was changed to Zunyi Special Area, which was later called Zunyi District.

2. Folklore

1. Stepping on the Mountain Festival

The annual grand festival of the Miao nationality is from the first to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month of each year. On the morning of the first day, a pole erection ceremony was held. A flower pole tied with pine and cypress branches and flower bunting was erected in the center of the hillside, as the symbol of Huahua Mountain.

After the flower poles were erected, the elders toasted and blessed the people. At the same time, the sound of gongs and drums, the sound of firecrackers, and the melodious reeds, men, women, and children danced and danced with lions. In the evening, the bonfire is splendid, and people sit around the bonfire and drink and sing all night long. Miao compatriots play reeds, dance, sing antiphony, laugh heartily, gather relatives and friends to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

2. Cut Mars Festival

Miao traditional festival, the content of the festival is mainly to stipulate the village rules. Depending on the surname, the time of the festival varies. Roughly July, August and September 27th.

Once a year, according to the people and households in the clan, they take turns to be on duty for the year. The duty year is responsible for calling everyone to discuss the township regulations and related major events. Then the duty year family prepares wine and kills the chickens. Congratulations to the next year. In a cycle, whoever is on duty during the New Year will hold a meeting and drink a “meeting wine” at that house.

3. Mountain Festival

In the third month of the lunar calendar, the spring mountains are bright, the spring rains are mellow, the spring swallows return, and all things recover. Mountain offerings are generally held on the third day of the third lunar month, and sometimes on the first day or the first day of March.

The villages of Jishan are organized as units. There is only one surname in a village, and the mountain sacrifice is hereditary presided over by the long house; the stockades with multiple surnames and different places are presided over in turn, and several households are on duty together every year. The person on duty is determined by casting lots. Sacrifice on the ground, call on famous mountain gods to enjoy the sacrifices, and pray that the mountain gods will bless the whole village with cleanliness and safety, good harvests of grains, prosperity of six animals, men can plow oxen and rakes, women can spin and weave, and have more children.

The hillside where the sacred tree is located is regarded as a sacred place by the Gelao people and is well-loved. People are not allowed to let cattle and horses trample on it, cut down the trees on the mountain, and they are not allowed to enter the mountain to cut firewood and grass at will.

4, eat new festival

During the Mengqiu season, the busy farmland management is basically over, the crops are first ripening, and a bumper harvest is in sight. The Gelao people believe that this is the result of the blessings of heaven, earth and ancestors, so as soon as the new food is cooked, they invite heaven, earth and ancestors to taste the new food with joy and gratitude. This is the origin of the “eating new festival” of the Gelao people.

The exact time to eat new varies from place to place. Most fall on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, and a few fall on the first day of the seventh month. In the case of a leap month, it falls on the first day of the eighth month.

On the first day of the seventh lunar month, malt, bean sprouts and grain sprouts are grown, and they are hung in front of the central pillar of the hall to welcome the ancestors home, and they will be offered until the thirteenth day of the seventh lunar month. On the day of the New Year’s Eating Festival, harvest new ears of grain, buns, bean pods, etc. to sacrifice together, and put the gold and silver mountains made of paper on the table, light incense and burn the paper to read for the ancestors to enjoy, and combine the traditional Eating New Festival of the Gelao with the seven of the Han nationality. Connect with the ghost sacrifice activities on the half moon.

Zunyi fun places

1. Scenic spots

1. The Red Journey

Zunyi Meeting Site, Loushanguan Red Army Battle Monument, Sidu Chishui Memorial Hall, Zunyi Red Army Martyrs Cemetery, Red Army Street, former site of Red Army Zunyi General Political Department, former residence of Chairman Mao, former site of Red Army Zunyi Garrison Command, Gouba Meeting Site, Zhonghua The former site of the Soviet State Bank, the former residence of Bogu, the Zunyi Conference Exhibition Hall, Loushanguan Cliff Stone Carvings, etc.

2. Nature tour

China Jurassic Park, Suiyang Jiudaomen, Liyuan Caochang Tourist Resort, Kuakuoshui Nature Reserve, Xishui Changqiangou Scenic Spot, Hongshiye Valley (Yangjiayan) Scenic Spot, Wuzhu Peak Scenic Spot, Chishui Cypress National Nature Reserve District, Yuqing Feilong Lake, Shuanghe Karst Cave National Geopark, Sanchahe Tourist Resort, Chishui Shizhang Cave Scenic Spot, Yunmentun Tourist Resort, Zunyi Sange Park, Zunyi Fengxiang Hot Spring, Phoenix Mountain Forest Park, etc. .

3. Scenic spots

Chishui Ancient City, Agate Mountain Military Camp, Xiangshan Temple, Taoxi Temple, Hailongtun Military Site, Bing’an Ancient Town, Yang Can Tomb, Jinding Mountain, etc.

4. A trip to the tea village

The Heart of Tea Sea Scenic Spot is the heart of the tea sea in western China, the Heart of the Tea Sea Scenic Spot with tea forests, the Heart of the Tea Sea, Ziweitang Tea House and other natural scenery.

Meitan is located on the southeast side of Zunyi, more than 70 kilometers away from Zunyi. It is the hometown of famous tea in China.

2. Specialties

1. Snacks

Yaxi Huangjia Beef, Xiaoye Kudingcha, Zunyi Douhua Noodles, Chaotian Pepper, Zunyi Mutton Noodles, Hollow Noodles, Fenggang Health Oil Tea, Potato Baba, Renhuai Sanpao Chicken, Hema Lamb, Nanbai Yellow Cake, Liu Erma rice skin, Zheng’an handmade rice skin, Shangji tofu skin, mung bean flour, buckwheat noodles, Tiansan steamed dumplings.

2. Wine

One of China’s three famous wines “Mao Wujian” – Maotai, Dongjiu, Xijiu, Zhenjiu and Yaxijiao liquor.