Pingxiang

Pingxiang is located in the southwest part of Guangxi Zhuang Minority Autonomous Region, run through by Hengyang-Pingxiang Railway and National Highway 322. The city borders Ningming County on the east, Longzhou County on the north, and Vietnam on the west and south. It is about 180 km away from Nanning, the capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (about one and a half hours by car). The city covers an area of 650.32 square kilometers, with five townships under its jurisdiction. It has a total population of approximately 100,000, including Han, Zhuang, Yao, Dong and Miao ethnicities. About 72,000 residents live in rural areas.

Inside the city are two national-level trading ports, Youyi Guan (Friendship Gate), a major railway station and five border crossings. The city is the most convenient key land-based border crossing to Vietnam and a major route to other Southeast Asian countries. Main tourist destinations such as Youyi Guan (Friendship Gate), Fakashan Mountain, Jinjishan Mountain, Dalian Center and Pingguoling Underground Great Wall, are worth visiting. Among them the most famous one is Youyi Guan (Friendship Gate), a national tourist scenic spot.

History

In 221 B.C. Qin Shi Huang (the first emperor of China during the Qin Dynasty, 259-210 B.C.) set up Guilin County, Nanhai County and Xiang County in the Lingnan area (south of the Five Ridges). As one part of Xiang County and a border crossing, Pingxiang enjoys a geographic position of strategic significance.

It was a constant battlefield in local history. Inside Pingxiang County, Youyi Guan (Friendship Gate), set amongst precipitous and magnificent mountains, has been regarded as one of the top nine gates in China. It is on the border of China and Vietnam, 18 kilometers south of Pingxiang City. Youyi Guan (Friendship Gate) began its construction during the Han Dynasty, and was originally named “Yongji Guan” (Yongji Gate).

In the Ming Dynasty, people also called it Zhengnan Guan. In the Qing Dynasty, according to historical records, General Fen Zhicai once defeated the French invaders here. After its conquest by the People’s Liberation Army, Zhengnan Guan was named as Youyi Guan (Friendship Gate) because of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Vietnam.

At the end of the 1970s, an invasion by the Vietnamese army downgraded the Sino-Vietnamese relationship, so the name of the gate returned to Zhengnan Guan. After the 1980s, diplomatic relations were resumed, so its name once again became Youyi Guan (Friendship Gate). Marshal Chen Yi (one famous general of the People’s Liberation Army) once inscribed three Chinese characters “You Yi Guan” (Friendship Gate) on the gate.

In June, 1992 Pingxiang was approved as an open border city by the State Council.