Dangshan

Dangshan County is situated in the northernmost part of Anhui Province, where four provinces (namely, Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan, Anhui) and seven counties meet. Its location is in Latitude 30"6' N-----34"39'N and Longitude 116"09'E -----116"38'E. The county, under its direct jurisdiction, has 19 towns, 370 administrative villages and 11 state-owned farms and orchards, and covers a total area of 1193 square kilometres, including a cultivated area of 910,000 mu. It has a population of 861,000 , including 770,000 farmers or fruiters. The county, with a fruit area of 750,000 mu, is praised as "China's Pear Metropolis" for its rich production of the world-famous "Dangshan Crisp Pears". Dangshan has a traffic superiority. It has been a strategic place of great importance since ancient times, with Xuzhou City lying 80 km to the east , Shangqiu City 70 km on the west and the legendary Liangshan Mountain only 100 km to the northwest. Longhai Railway and No.310 State Highway run through it; and the Jing--Jiu Railway( from Beijing to Hongkong) and the Jing--Hu Railway (from Beijing to Shanghai) brush past on both sides, so Dangshan County has quite satisfactory transport facilities and assumes the vital communication line and the distributing centre for goods and materials in the Xu-- Huai Area(Both Xuzhou and HuaiBei Areas). Dangshan has a civilized history of about 3000 years. During the Warring States period(475----221 B.C.), it was owned as "Dang County" by the Chu Kindom and was later established as "Dang Prefecture & Dang County" in the Qin Dynasty(221----207 B.C.); in the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-----A.D.220), it was part of the Liang Kingdom and was renamed as "Dangshan County",which has since been in use. Dangshan was named after the 2 mountains----Mangshan & Dangshan, which were once under its jurisdiction. This is a historic place where Liu Bang, Gao Emperor of the Han Dynasty, killed a huge boa and rose in revolt, a sacred place where Zhu Wen, Emperor of the Later Liang Dynasty(907---923) was born and ascended the throne, and also a romantic place where the forefathers of Qi Baishi, a most famous arts master of modern times, had lived. Here people can pay homage to the tomb of Xue Xian, a high-ranking general of the Ming Dynasty(1368---1644), can enjoy the scenery of the Yanxitai where Li Bai, a very famous poet of the Tang Dynasty(618---907), left his footmarks, can listen to the toll of the famous Grand Mosque, and can also enjoy the ripples on the old course of the Huanghe River. Dangshan is well-known far and near for her particular humane and natural beauty. Area code: 557