zunyi

main cities of guizhou: anshun , bijie , congjiang , guiyang , kaili , tongren , zunyi , zhaoxing , lupanshui , duyun , miao region,buyi region

apart from being the home of maotai, china's no.1 liquor, and the spectacular waterfalls at huangguoshu, guizhou is usually associated with zunyi. zunyi is a medium-sized city in northern guizhou, which covers 47 sq km with a population of 435100. originally known as bozhou in the southern song dynasty, zunyi has become one of the more developed cities with the reputation of spawning wiser people than anywhere else in guizhou.

zunyi might have remained obscure had the communist-led red army not convened a historic meeting there in january 1935 during the chinese civil war. during that well-known meeting, mao zedong (1893--1976) and zhou enlai (1900--76) were voted top commanders of the red army. and it marked a turning point in the red army's epic long march (1934--36). mao decided to avoid a frontal attack from the nationalist troops and instead led the red army into northern shaanxi to recoup its strength. the strategy saved the communist forces from that dangerous situation.

"power comes from the barrel of a gun" is mao's well-known quotation. it is also wisdom derived from his early failures. after the zunyi meeting, mao kept his grip on the army and led the communists to total victory in 1949.

today the venue of the meeting, a two-story western-style building, is a major tourist attraction in zunyi. the wood and brick structure was converted into a museum in the later 1960s. all the rooms and furniture were restored to recreate the atmosphere of the 1930s. one bedroom on the ground floor still has a big couch designed for opium smokers. opium was rife in china at that time. even some of the senior red army officers smoked opium. general peng xuefeng's troops were nicknamed the "two-gun troops" -- an allusion to the rifles and the long opium pipes carried by his soldiers.

the loushanguan pass is 45 km north of zunyi and is the short cut through the dalou mountains. the importance of this pass during the long march lies in its historic connections. on the 27th of february 1935, a section of the red army wrestled the pass from the control of the nationalist army and then marched into zunyi. they took more than 2000 prisoners and captured about 1000 rifles and 100000 rounds of ammunition. this victory lifted the spirits of the red army that had suffered from poor leadership of the rightests of the party.

travellers can also visit a cemetery dedicated to the red army soldiers who lost their lives in the area. it was built on a wooded slope on the fenghuang hill to the southeast of zunyi. a 30-m-high granite monument capped with the gilded red army symbol of a hammer and sickle stands in the center of the cemetery. four megalithic head sculptures of red army soldiers intensify the solemnity of the site.

since 1978, china has turned itself into another dirction, from politically-centered to economically-centered. zunyi is no exception. the local industrial development has been encouraged by the recent hydroelectric power station on the wujiang river and other schemes. the city of zunyi has a growing industrial base including chemicals and plastic, food processing, metallurgy, light engineering, an expanding hi-tech industry, an automobile plant and a ferro-alloy plant. this prefecture's large manganese reserves as well as aluminium, coal, sulphur, mercury, phosphorus and marble reserves will furher stimulate industry.

zunyi is three hours by train or by bus from guiyang, the provincial capital. china northwest airlines has daily flights from shanghai to guiyang.

places of interest

the museum of zunyi meeting in the old town of zunyi city is a western-influenced walled house, originally a local military lord's residence built in 1920, was used by the red army leaders as a temperary headquarters during their stay in zunyi to hold a historical meeting. the rooms are furnished as they were in the 1930s: a simple wooden trestle as a bed covered with straw mattress and a cotton quilt. straw sandles, kerosene oil lamps, wooden umbrellas and charcoal heaters from that time are on display.

the old town of zunyi is worth visiting, where the museum of zunyi meeting is located. walking through the old town gives one a different feel of the past.it is also worth visiting the xiangshan buddhist temple there.

the monument to the red armymen's martyrs on the hongjunshan (red armymen's) hill, built in 1985 and designed by the sichuan academy of arts, depicts the story of the long march and the major battles in guiyang. these enormous sculptures and the graveyard of the unkown soldiers nearby create a heroic atomsphere around.

the yang can mausoleum, located in the southeast of zunyi city, is a large stone chamber of a coffin in which yang can, a military commissioner of bozhou in the southern song dynasty, and his wife were buried together. it has become a historic relic under strict state protection. inside the chamber, there are many exquisite and lifelike stone carvings of flowers, plants, dragons, beds and chairs, and stone figures of civil officials and warriors. this tomb offers a good chance to see the culture of the southern song dynasty.

around the graveyard, zheng zhen, mo youzi and li shuchang, all outstanding historical figures in the later qing dynasty, are buried. their knowledge formed the famous "shatan school" of culture in the later qing dynasty. they were all locals and this place is, somewhat, a monument to "who's who" in zunyi's past. there are also some other historical sites of this ancient bozhou.

kuankuoshui virgin forest in kaiyang county has been listed as a new provincial scenic spot because of its densely-wooded areas.

meitan is a rustic and quiet town 65 kilometers east of zunyi. it sits on the sunny slope of the dalou mountains with a limpid stream skirting it. secluded by the mountains and the turbulent wujiang river in the south, meitan is a place of many unspoilt beauties. tourists can explore the wooded valleys, where locals live in harmony with nature, or take a boat cruise down the scenic meijiang river, which feeds into the wujiang river. one can make a trip to the tea garden. the tea, a local speciality, is popular in and out of this province.

for many years, meitan has been known as the "granary of northern guizhou" because of its high grain production. today it is also known as the "liquor cellar" because the well-known local spirit, meijiao, is marketed all over china and in more than 20 foreign countries. the meitan distillery was, in 1995, ranked 181st among the nation's top 500 profit-making enterprises and is the 19th largest in the country's beverage industry.

a one-day excursion to meitan is recommended. and don't forget to pick up a bottle of meijiao, priced between 12 and 156 yuan in 1997, depending on the size, vintage and packaging.

 

 

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