Xingguo County
Xingguo County () is a county in south central Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of and located in the north of the prefecture-level city of Ganzhou, with a total area of . Its population was 719,830 at the 2010 census. History. In 236 during the Three Kingdoms period Pingyang County was set up in the current area of Xingguo County. In 982 during the Northern Song period the county of Xingguo was set up, named after the "Taipingxingguo" era (AD 976 – 984) of the emperor of that time. Administration. As of end  of 2019, Xingguo has jurisdiction over 8 towns, 17 townships and 1 economic development zone. The seat of the county locates at the Lianjiang Town. Geography. Location. Xingguo County locates in the central south of Jiangxi Province, and in the north of Ganzhou prefectural level city. The distance to the center of Ganzhou is about 82 kilometers, and the distance to the provincial capital Nanchang is about 346 kilometers. Topography. The length from east to west is 84 kilometers and the width from north to south is 71.5 kilometers. Xingguo is mostly covered by hills and mountains: mountains over 1000  meters on the east, north and west edges, while hilly areas in the center and south parts, with a small basin around the county seat Lianjiang Town. The highest point is the Mount Dawushan at Fengbian Township in the north with elevation of 1204 meters, while the lowest point locates at Mubu Village, Longkou Township in the south with elevation of 127.9 meters. Rivers. The rivers in Xingguo are mostly tributaries to Gong River, which forms Gan River together with Zhang River near the city center of Ganzhou. There are several reservoirs in Xingguo, the largest one being Changgang Reservoir  at Changgang Township. Climate. Xingguo has a humid subtropical climate. The annual average temperature is 18.8 °C, and the average annual precipitation is 1515.6 mm. Demographics. According to the official website, the population in 2015 was about 820,000. Xingguo is Hakka area, the ancestors of the population mostly came from Henan, Gansu and other provinces such as Shaanxi, Hebei, Shanxi and Shandong. There are a small number of She people living in Xingguo. According to the records, there were 810 households and 4419 She people in 1986. Four villages in Xingguo are designated to She people. Places of interests . The Revolutionary Sites of Xingguo is on the list of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level. It includes 5 different sites where Mao Zedong, Communist Party, and Red Army had had activities during 1929 - 1933. As a result of these activities, there has been 54 persons from Xingguo appointed as major generals, lieutenant generals, or colonel generals in the army (later additional 2 persons were appointed). So Xingguo is nicknamed as the County of Generals. In addition, there are 19 historical and cultural sites protected at the provincial level, 9 sites at the prefectural city level , and 25 sites at the county level. Transportation. Railway. There are two railway stations in the county. High-speed services call at Xingguo West railway station and all other services call at Xingguo railway station. Air. Both airports are within 100 kilometers distance. Culture. Hakka culture. Xingguo is a settlement for Hakka people, so it has the characteristics of Hakka culture, including the Hakka Chinese language. Folk song. In Xingguo there is a unique folk song genre called Xingguo Shan'ge ("mountain song"). Feng shui. Xingguo is also one of the founding places of feng shui philosophy. Sanliao Village in Meijiao  Town is known as the First Village of Feng Shui Culture.