Mengshan County

History

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

Taiping soldiers captured the walled city of Yongan () (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.

Administrative divisions

Mengshan County has nine fourth-level administrative units: six towns, one township and two Yao ethnic townships.

Activities

Tianshu Canyon () is located 5 kilometers east of Mengshan town. Tianshu Canyon has a has impressive stone formations and natural waterfalls.

Located 13 kilometers east of Mengshan Town is San Chong Historic Battle Ground () The site of a battle on April 8, 1852 during the Taiping Rebellion.

In Mengshan county in 1968 during the Cultural Revolution Cannibalism occurred. 500 people were killed in a five-day period in mid-June.

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 (). Mengshan town is 145 km by road south of Guilin, 82 km by road south of Yangshuo, and 187 km 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 Pearl 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 bitter 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 Ethnic Township () 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 vineyards, and further vineyards are being developed.

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)

Climate

|Jan record high C = 27.1 |Jan record low C = -1.3 |Feb record high C = 31.1 |Feb record low C = -0.2 |Mar record high C = 33.1 |Mar record low C = 0.3 |Apr record high C = 33.7 |Apr record low C = 6.9 |May record high C = 34.9 |May record low C = 11.6 |Jun record high C = 36.7 |Jun record low C = 15.2 |Jul record high C = 40.2 |Jul record low C = 17.8 |Aug record high C = 39.0 |Aug record low C = 19.4 |Sep record high C = 38.7 |Sep record low C = 14.2 |Oct record high C = 35.7 |Oct record low C = 7.0 |Nov record high C = 32.8 |Nov record low C = 2.4 |Dec record high C = 29.0 |Dec record low C = -2.9

References

References

1. link. [[National Bureau of Statistics of China]]
2. Alice W. Cheang. (1999). "Inscribing the Unspeakable". Alice W. Cheang.
3. John Gittings. (1993). "Inscribing the Unspeakable". John Gittings.
4. Yang Su. (2003). "Mass Killings in Rural China 1967-68". University of California, Irvine).
5. Agricultural Information Center of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (2008-10-10). "Grape Planting to Increase". Guangxi Agricultural Information Web.
6. "Mengshan's Macroeconomy". [[Xinhua News Agency]].
7. link. [[China Meteorological Administration]]