Mengshan County

Mengshan County
—  County  —
Chinese transcription(s)
- Simplified	蒙山县
- Traditional	蒙山縣
- Pinyin	Méngshān Xiàn
Mengshan County
Coordinates: 24°47′N 110°30′E / 24.783°N 110.5°E / 24.783; 110.5Coordinates: 24°47′N 110°30′E / 24.783°N 110.5°E / 24.783; 110.5
Country	China
Region	Guangxi
Prefecture	Wuzhou
County seat	Mengshan Town
Area
- Total	1,297 km2 (500.8 sq mi)
Population
- Total	210,000
- Density	161.9/km2 (419.4/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Website	www.gxmengshan.net (Chinese)

Mengshan County (simplified Chinese: 蒙山县; traditional Chinese: 蒙山縣; pinyin: Méngshān Xiàn) is a county in Wuzhou, Guangxi Province, China. Its seat is located in Mengshan Town.

Administrative divisions

Mengshan County has nine fourth-level administrative units: Six Rural Towns, One Townships and Two Yao ethnic townships.

District	Population (2000 census)	Area (km²)
Mengshan Town (蒙山镇 ; méng shān zhèn)	44,077	82.9
Xihe Town (西河镇 ; xī hé zhèn)	32,200	216
Xinwei Town (新圩镇 ; xīn wéi zhèn)	23,000	144
Wenwei Town (文圩镇 ; wén wéi zhèn)	34,000	143
Huangcun Town (黄村镇 ; huáng cūn zhèn)	22,000	239.8
Chentang Town (陈塘镇 ; chén táng zhèn)	21,828	152.29
Hanhao Township (汉豪乡 ; hàn háo xiāng)	12,175	106.37
Changping Yaozu Area (长坪瑶族乡 ; cháng píng yáo zú xiāng)	2,889	131.8
Xiayi Yaozu Area (夏宜瑶族乡 ; xià yí yáo zú xiāng )	6,011	117.4
Mengshan County	198,180	1333.56

Activities

Tianshu Canyon (simplified Chinese: 天书峡谷; traditional Chinese: 天書峽谷; pinyin: San tiān shū xiá gǔ) is located 5 kilometers east of Mengshan town. Tianshu Canyon has a has impressive stone formations and natural waterfalls.

History

Battles were fought in Mengshan during the Tai Ping Rebellion in 1851 and 1852.

Taiping soldiers captured the walled city of Yongan(Chinese: 永安; pinyin: yǒng ān)(now Mengshan Town) from Qing forces on September 25 1851. The remains of sections of wall, replica cannons, other artifacts are preserved and now form a tourist attraction on the northern end of Mengshan Town.

Located 13 kilometers east of Mengshan Town is San Chong Historic Battle Ground (simplified Chinese: 三冲古战场; traditional Chinese: 三衝古戰場; pinyin: San Chong Gu Zhan Chang) The site of a battle on April 8 1852 during the Tai Ping Rebellion.

In Mengshan county in 1968 during the cultural revolution Cannibalism occurred. 500 people were killed in a five-day period in mid-June.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Many Middle Schools were closed in Mengshan in 1968 and remained closed until 1974.

Transportation

Mengshan does not have an airport or railway. The closest airports to Mengshan are Guilin Liangjiang International Airport and Wuzhou Airport. The main road which runs North-South through Mengshan is the G321 National Highway (simplified Chinese: 国道G321; traditional Chinese: 國道G321; pinyin: Guódào G sān èr yāo). Mengshan town is 145km by road south of Guilin, 82km by road south of Yangshuo, and 187km by road north of Wuzhou. The G321 is a single carriageway with 2 lanes.

There are direct bus services from Mengshan town to Guilin, Wuzhou and many cities in the Guangdong Peal River Delta including Guangzhou and Zhongshan.

Economy

Although similar to Guilin and Yangshuo with attractive karst scenery, potential for outdoor activities, such as caving, rafting, climbing and mountain biking, Mengshan does not have any significant tourist industry or infrastructure.

Agriculture and Forestry are the main Industries in Mengshan. Rice is grown primarily for domestic consumption. Crops and fruit such as butter tea, citrus fruit, apple, chestnut, pear, persimmon, passion fruit, star anise, sugar cane and ginger are grown for sale. Silkworms are also an important source of income for many villages. Vanilla is grown in Changping Yao Minority Village (simplified Chinese: 长坪瑶族乡; traditional Chinese: 長坪瑤族鄉; pinyin: Cháng Píng Yáo Zú Xiāng) and in other parts of Mengshan.

Tea is grown in most villages for domestic use, as well as for sale. Mengshan's climate is ideal for growing tea. Coffee mainly of the Arabica variety grows well in Mengshan county in frost free areas but planting is on small scale.

Mengshan has productive vinyards, and further vinyards are being developed.^{[4] [5]}

Remittances from rural migrant workers significantly contribute to the local economy.

Notable people

• Liang_Yusheng (1926–2009) a famous Chinese wuxia novelist who spent his early years in Wenwei Village (文圩村 ; wén wéi cūn) Mengshan.
• Chen Manyuan 陳漫遠(1911-1986) a member of the Central Committee of the CCP’s Eighth Congress (1956)

References

1. ^ Alice W. Cheang (1999). "Inscribing the Unspeakable". Alice W. Cheang. http://taiwanauj.nat.gov.tw/fp.asp?xItem=1441&CtNode=128. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 
2. ^ John Gittings (1993). "Inscribing the Unspeakable". John Gittings. http://taiwanauj.nat.gov.tw/fp.asp?xItem=1441&CtNode=128. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 
3. ^ Yang Su (2003). "Mass Killings in Rural China 1967-68". University of California, Irvine). http://repositories.cdlib.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1023&context=csd. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 
4. ^ Agricultural Information Center of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (2008-10-10). "Grape Planting to Increase". Guangxi Agricultural Information Web. http://www.gxny.gov.cn/web/2008-10/223029.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-09. 
5. ^ gx.xinhuanet.com (2006). "Mengshan's Macroeconomy". gx.xinhuanet.com. http://www.gx.xinhuanet.com/dtzx/mengshan/jjjs.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-09. 

External links

• Mengshan County Government Website