Yongding County

Yongding County (永定县, pinyin: Yǒngdìng Xiàn) is a county under the jurisdiction of Longyan prefecture-level city, in Fujian Province, China. It is the home of many Hakka families. Yongding has a population of about 400,000, of which more than 99% are Hakka, the rest being Minnan people.

Geography

Yongding county lies on the Fujian-Guangdong border. To the south lies Dabu County of Guangdong province. The other neighboring counties are all in Fujian: Shanghang County to the west, Longyan city to the north, and Nanjing County to the east. Both Dabu and Shanghang are Hakka counties. Xinluo and Nanjing are predominantly Minnan.

Yongding is about 2,500 km² (1000 square miles) in area. Like other regions of Fujian province, Yongding is 80% hills and mountains, 10% water or rivers, and 10% fields. Two major rivers run through the county: Yongding River (永定河) and Xiayang creek (下洋溪). Both are tributaries of the Ting River (汀江, the name by which it is known in Fujian territory) or Han River (韩江, the name by which it is known in Guangdong province). Located in a sub-tropical area and subject to typhoons, Yongding has high annual precipitation of about 1200 to 1500 mm per year.

Culture

Yongding is the home of many famous Tu lou. Four towns in the county have "tu lou" buildings. One of the famous town is Tsuchi (初溪), as seen in the Lonely Planet TV programme.

Economy

As a result of abundant precipitation, hydroelectric power is abundant. There are numerous hydro plants in the county, one notable one being the provincial Mianhuatan Hydroelectric Power Station. The plant has a water storage capacity of 2.035 billion cubic meters and is able to generate 1.52 billion kilowatt hours of electricity a year. The Mianhuatan hydrodam contributes greatly to the rapidly growing economy of Fujian and neighboring Guangdong province.

In agriculture, rice is the main crop for the county. Most low-lying fields can yield two rice crops per year, while in high land fields, because of the earlier frost, only one harvest can be assured.

Yongding is an important tobacco producer. The cultivation of tobacco started in Wan Li era of the Ming Dynasty. Yongding was honored as the "home of tobacco" in the early 20th century. Although its significance has declined in recent years, Yongding is still one of the most important tobacco producing areas in the region. Many top brand Chinese cigarettes contain Yongding leaf.

Yongding is rich in mineral deposits, most notably coal. Most of the county's coal is shipped to Guangdong, where economic growth has created huge demand for energy. This in turn has created demand for heavy trucks. As a result, Yongding is one of the top counties for number of trucks.

Miscellaneous

There have been many famous overseas Chinese with their roots in Yongding. Hu Wenhu (胡文虎) was one of the most famous overseas Chinese in 1930s and 40s.