Guzhang
Compared to a fairly large county town, Guzhang is indeed very small. How small? A folk rhyme goes: "Little Guzhang County, sky the size of a winnowing basket; a few thatched huts, one tofu shop; when it rains, open an umbrella and it touches the eaves on both sides; a beating in the yamen, the whole town hears it; one family fries chilies, the whole town coughs." Of course, this refers entirely to the Guzhang of the past.
This article is compiled from the original travel notes on the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com); it is a record of trips from earlier years. Time-sensitive information such as ticket prices, schedules, and accommodation prices is subject to the latest announcements from scenic areas and transportation authorities; the itinerary ideas and attraction introductions still have reference value.
Relative to a county town of fairly large scale, Guzhang is indeed very small. How small? There is a folk rhyme: "Little Guzhang County, sky as big as a winnowing basket; a few thatched sheds, one tofu shop; when it rains, open an umbrella, and both sides touch the eaves; when the yamen beats a buttocks, the whole town hears it; when one family fries chilies, the whole town chokes."
Of course, this refers entirely to the Guzhang of the past. Historical records say that in the twenty-fourth year of Jiaqing (1819), Guzhang first piled stones to build a city wall, more than 2 li long, with east, west, south, and north gates. Inside the city, the streets were less than 3 meters wide, and more than 300 households mostly lived in thatched sheds, but the entire area was only 56 mu. By 1946, the whole city was only 64 mu, making it the smallest county in the province.
Although Guzhang town is small, its history is relatively long. According to cultural relics unearthed in archaeological excavations, people lived here as early as the Warring States period. In the fifth year of Yongzheng (1727), the Yongshun subprefect was stationed at Guzhangping. In the second year of Daoguang (1822), Guzhangping Ting was established, and together with Fenghuang, Qiancheng, and Yongsui it became one of the four ting of the Miao frontier. In the second year of the Revolution of 1911, Guzhang abolished the ting and established Guzhang County, which continues to this day. The meaning of the name Guzhang is: "Gu means dwelling in the present and recalling the past; zhang means the title of two armies facing the enemy; ping means the kingly way is level and the path walked is smooth. ... Later zhang was written as zhang, taking the meaning of equalizing fields and measuring land" (Guzhangping Ting Gazetteer).
In the Qing Dynasty, Guzhang produced a famous provincial military commander named Yang Zhanao. He is recorded in Qing history. Yang Zhanao, like Yang Yuebin of Qianzhou and Tian Xingxu of Fenghuang, was a famous general trained from Zeng Guofan's Xiang Army. It is said that Yang Zhanao's family was very poor when he was young, and his father died early. His mother raised him, but he loved ease and hated work and did not attend to proper business, and was often reprimanded by his mother. At the age of 22, Yang Zhanao, who had just married not long before, once bought a few pieces of tofu on credit to bring home and eat. When his mother found out, she scolded him for "only knowing how to eat well!" and chased him with a wooden stick to beat him. Yang Zhanao ran to the river and jumped headfirst into the water, frightening his mother stiff. After a while, he emerged from the opposite bank, went ashore, bowed once to his mother, and then left without looking back. That departure lasted decades. Yang Zhanao joined the Xiang Army and repeatedly won military merit from being a soldier, gradually being promoted to provincial military commander of Gansu. In the northwest, he adopted measures such as storing grain, stationing troops, and building post stations, laying the material and military foundation for Zuo Zongtang's recovery of Xinjiang. Yang Zhanao also called on soldiers in the army each to plant 100 trees, from Gansu all the way to Urumqi. A poem praises him: "The great general has not yet returned from the western expedition; Huxiang sons fill the Tianshan; willows are planted for three thousand li, not because the spring wind crosses the Jade Gate."
These frontier defense measures of Yang Zhanao were praised by the imperial court. Later, because old injuries and illness recurred, he was permitted to retire and return home. Not long after returning, he was summoned by Empress Dowager Cixi, who granted him ten thousand taels of silver and told him to return home to build bridges and roads. After returning home, however, Yang Zhanao used this ten thousand taels of silver to buy large amounts of land, purchasing paddy fields yielding ten thousand dan of rice, and built a luxurious Yang mansion compound with four courtyards, eight skywells, and a garden, housing more than 60 relatives and servants. After returning home, Yang Zhanao sought pleasure and comfort, and for this left an unglorious reputation locally.
In contemporary times, Guzhang has also produced two outstanding famous singers: one is the male singer He Jiguang, who won the first National Golden Record Award, and the other is the Miao female singer Song Zuying. The singing of both has left extremely deep impressions among hundreds of millions of viewers nationwide and has brought great honor to the people of Guzhang.
Guzhang's famous local product is mainly Maojian tea. As early as the Tang Dynasty, Guzhang already presented Maojian tea as tribute to the imperial court. In the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong personally designated Guzhang Maojian as tribute. In 1929, Chen Quzhen, the King of Xiangxi, brought Guzhang Maojian to the West Lake Exposition, where it won a quality award. Later, at the Paris International Exposition, Guzhang Maojian again won an international famous tea award.
Guzhang's urban construction has also developed considerably in recent years. At present, with Guyang Town as the center, the county has expanded in all directions, and the built-up urban area has reached several square kilometers. The resident population is more than 20,000. The small town that was once dirty, chaotic, and poor is now striding toward becoming a modern county town.