Gutian County also known as Edible Mushroom County, is a county lying in the southwest of Ningde

Ningde

Ningde , also known as Mindong , is a prefecture-level city located along the northeastern coast of Fujian province, China. It borders Fuzhou to the south, Wenzhou City and Zhejiang province to the north, and Nanping City to the west.-Administration:...

, Fujian

Fujian

' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...

 province, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. It is also known as "the town of the former worthy", as Zhuxi

Zhuxi

Zhuxi may refer to:* Guojia Zhuxi, the President of the People's Republic of China* Zhuxi County, in Hubei, China* Zhu Xi , Chinese philosopher* Wang Zhuxi , Chinese physicist, educator and philologist...

, a famous Chinese scholar once lived there. In earlier English documents it is also known as Kutien or Kucheng.

• Area: 2,377 km²
• Population: 430,000

History

The county was set up in the Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

 in 741 AD. Since Zhuxi

Zhu Xi

Zhū​ Xī​ or Chu Hsi was a Song Dynasty Confucian scholar who became the leading figure of the School of Principle and the most influential rationalist Neo-Confucian in China...

, one of the famous scholars in China, lived there, it is also called "the town of the former worthy."

In 1895 the county was the site of a massacre of Christian missionaries.

Scenic Areas

There are a number of scenic areas in Gutian.

• The thousand-year-old Auspicious Tower (吉祥塔).
• The Xishan Academy of Classical Learning (溪山书院), where Zhuxi
  Zhuxi
  Zhuxi may refer to:* Guojia Zhuxi, the President of the People's Republic of China* Zhuxi County, in Hubei, China* Zhu Xi , Chinese philosopher* Wang Zhuxi , Chinese physicist, educator and philologist...
  
   once taught.
• The Linshui Palace (临水宫).
• The Temple of Paradise (极乐寺).
• The Green Screen Lake (翠屏湖).

Subdivision

Gutian has jurisdiction over 8 towns and 7 villages. It has a total population of 430,000.

• Shanyang Town (杉洋镇)
• Hetang Town (鹤塘镇)
• Daqiao Town (大桥镇)
• Pinghu Town (平湖镇)
• Xincheng Town
  Xincheng Town
  -Gansu:*Xincheng, Jiayuguan, first-order division of Jiayuguan City*Xincheng, Lanzhou, in Xigu District, Lanzhou*Xincheng Town, Lintan County, in Lintan County-Hebei:*Xincheng, Gaobeidian, in Gaobeidian City*Xincheng, Shahe, in Shahe City...
  
   (新城镇)
• Huangtian Town (黄田镇)
• Fengdu Town (凤都镇)
• Shuikou Town (水口镇)
• Dajia Village (大甲乡)
• Zhuoyang Village (卓洋乡)
• Jixiang Village (吉巷乡)
• Songji Village (松吉乡)
• Hubin Village (湖滨乡)
• Panyang Village (泮洋乡)
• Fengpu Village (凤都乡)

Agriculture

Gutian county is known as "The Land of Fungi" (食用菌之乡). Fungal exports include snow fungus (Tremella fuciformis) (白木耳) and shiitake

Shiitake

The Shiitake is an edible mushroom native to East Asia, which is cultivated and consumed in many Asian countries, as well as being dried and exported to many countries around the world. It is a feature of many Asian cuisines including Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai...

 (Lentinula edodes) (香菇). Other exports include perch

Perch

Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the...

 (鲈鱼), carp

Carp

Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...

 (鲤鱼), honey peaches (水蜜桃), reddish slab stones (桃花红石板材) and Younai plums (油柰).

Communications and public works

Gutian's transportation systems include railways, highways and seaways. Waifu (外福) Railway is 33.2 km long. Abundant water resources have led to the building of the first national underground hydropower station, Gutian Xishui Hydroelectric Power Station, which has the largest volume in the Huadong district.

Miscellaneous

Gutian is the original home of many countrymen residing abroad. The number of overseas Chinese from this area amounts to more than 200,000, many now resident in Sitiawan

Sitiawan

Sitiawan, Malaysia is a region in the Manjung district of Perak, Malaysia....

, Perak

Perak

Perak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...

in Malaysia. It is also a "national model county", which is famous for its culture, physical education and broadcasting TV programs.