Chongzuo is located in southwest Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the middle reaches of the Zuojiang River. It adjoins Fusui on the east, borders Ningming on the south, connects Longzhou and Daxin on the west, and links Long'an on the north. Taiping, the county town, is 159 kilometers away from Nanning, capital city of Guangxi, and 111 kilometers from Pingxiang, a border city. Taiping can be reached by bus or by train. Chongzuo has a total area of 2901 square kilometers and a population of around 330,000, of which the Zhuang people account for 80 percent, and Han, Miao, Yao, Dong and other ethnic groups cover the rest 20 percent.
Before the Qin Dynasty, Chongzuo was named Huangtong, where part of the ancient Baiyue clan lived. In the Han Dynasty, Chongzuo was established as Lincen County and as Zuozhou Prefecture at the end of the Tang Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, another county was set up, named Chongshan County and kept the name even though Zuozhou Prefecture was renamed Zuoxian County in the first year of the Republic (1912). In 1952, Chongshan County and Zuoxian County merged as Chongzuo County. And now it is a prefecture-level city.
As a hilly place and with the Zuojiang River running through it, Chongzuo boasts as many as 78 scenic spots around Taiping, mainly including Zuojiang Leaning Tower, Zuojiang Stone Forest, Zuojiang Scenery, Wenyang Rock, Biyun Cave, and Heishuihe River Scenery.
If we talk about a leaning tower, the first image that comes to mind is the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, but little known is that there is also a leaning tower in Chongzuo, which can be comparable with the world famous one and that now it is developed into a scenic spot. Zuojiang Leaning Tower was named Guilong Tower, only two kilometers eastwards away from Taiping. Built of bricks in 1621, the 28-meter and 5-storey high hexangular tower is still standing intact on a giant stone in the middle of the Zuojiang River. The tower is leaning southwestwards at a gradient of four degrees and against the running water, which is really rare home and abroad. The top and bottom vary by one meter, with the bottom having a diameter of 5 meters. Story tells that it was built on purpose to suppress an evil dragon that harmed the boatmen passing by, and experts said that craftsmen deliberately tilted the tower to one side because of its foundation and for the concern of the wind from the river. That’s why the tower still stands firmly after over 370 years.
Six kilometers southwards away from Chongzuo is Zuojiang Stone Forest, which is reputed as “rare in China and top in Guangxi”. On a flat land of more than 1,000 mu, numerous stone sprouts and pillars rise abruptly from the ground and tower into the sky, forming a magnificent forest of stone. The stone peaks have various forms and some are named after what they look like, such as “Flying Stone”, “Love Twining Vines”, “Jade Hare”, etc., and the stone grottos in the forest are also of different sizes and shapes, with some as wide as a palace, some as narrow as a chink, some as straight as an arrow, and some as intricate as a maze. The splendor of the scene has attracted a lot of domestic and foreign visitors.
On the Heishuihe River in Xinhe Town that is 30 kilometers from the county town, there is another stone forest, but this forest is not on land but on water. At a distance, the stones form a forest, but when seen closely, each stone is a view in its own way. It is not hard to imagine what a picture is with vivid multiform stones reflected in the green water of the Heishuihe River, along with the scenes of nearby green mountains, showy kapok flowers, green bamboos, white cranes flying in the sky, and wild ducks watering in the river. This particular stone forest on water parallels Zuojiang Leaning Tower and Zuojiang Stone Forest, and the three are called three charms in Chongzuo.
Mountain Wenyang in Longshan Village, eight kilometers eastwards from the county town, is only 300 meters above sea level but boasts a most beautiful natural cave in Chongzuo. The cave is called Wenyang Cave, covering an area of 5,000 square meters and having six large mansions and one gigantic hall. The mansions and the hall make the seven peaks of the mountain linked from east to south. Numerous stalactites, stalagmites, stone pillars, curtains, plates and bridges inside are a real feast for the eyes. What pleases is that a hole on top always leaves a beam of light in the cave.
Another cave in Chongzuo is Biyun Cave in Mountain Qinglian, which stands in the west of the county town and was opened up in 1613. The cave sits halfway up the mountain. The inside four caverns zigzag and wind away from the center to the south, west and north, circling the mountain. All of the four caverns have their own attractions, for instance, an opening to the sky for sunshine in the central cavern, a basin for treasures in the southern cavern and so on.
Banli Rare Wildlife Conservation Area is also in Chongzuo. This 77,000-mu conservation area is home to more than 240 white-headed leaf monkeys that are under first class state protection. These monkeys are in 18 groups and set up their own “households” but live harmoniously together. Every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., they leap about the cliffs, frolic in the trees, and go to the foot of the mountain to play with the farmers at work. It is a great destination for tourism and expedition.
Chongzuo is rich in local products, such as longans, red melon seeds, pineapples, and straw mats, to name just a few.
