Leizhou City, located in the central part of
the Leizhou Peninsula at the southernmost end of Chinese mainland, faces the
Leizhou Bay to the east, neighbors the Beibu Gulf to the west, borders Zhanjiang
City and Suixi County to the north, and neighbors Xuwen County to the south. It
has 20 towns under its jurisdiction, enjoys advantageous natural conditions, and
is reputed as a land flowing with milk and honey.
With a long history, Leizhou boasts rich
cultural heritage, and was inhabited by human beings as early as in the
Neolithic Age four to five thousand years ago. In the pre-Qin period, it was the
orbit of the Yue and Chu states in succession. From the sixth year (111BC) of
the Yuanding reign in the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) to the end of the Qing
Dynasty (1644-1911), Leizhou was a center of politics, economy and culture in
the Leizhou Peninsula.
Due to historical and geological reasons,
Leizhou became the converging place of Chu and Yue cultures, aboriginal culture,
culture brought by immigrants from South Fujian, marine culture and culture from
the Central Plains, and form its unique Leizhou culture. Leizhou is full of
talents and historic sites. There are 57 cultural relics sites under the
county-level protection or above, and the number and quality of collections in
the Leizhou city museum top all county-level museums in the province. And, the
museum is an outstanding patriotism education base in the national cultural
relics system.
Many celebrities in the history came from
Leizhou. For instance, Chen Wenyu served as governors of Donghezhou and Leizhou
in succession, and was respectfully honored as Lei Ancestor due to his great
achievements. Another example is Chen Bin, who served as county magistrate of
Gutian and Taiwan in Fujian Province in succession, and provincial governor of
Fujian Province and satrap of Fujian-Zhejiang area. For his incorruptibility and
solicitude to the mass people, he was reputed as one of the three great honest
and upright officials south of the Five Ridges in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing
(1644-1911) dynasties.
Leizhou has beautiful natural scenery,
including the eight great sites in old Leizhou such as vast exuberance in West
Lake, inscriptions in the goose pagoda, and so on, as well as new scenic spots
like the Tiancheng Terrace, the Gaoshan Temple, and the Baolin Buddhist Temple.
Looking eastwards from the Sanyuan Ancient Tower, one can see large expanse of
fertile fields, chains of mountains and waves on the South China Sea. All
visitors will gasp at the too many marvelous sites and the uncanny workmanship
of the nature.
Folk customs in Leizhou are quite colorful.
In the Lantern Festival, people hold rich activities in urban and rural areas,
and the Tan Dance and the Flower Spreading Dance prevalent in March are quite
fascinating.
Leizhou is a glittering pearl in south
China, and a great garden full of historical culture. It is one of the 99
national level historical and cultural cities.