As the Water of Yuan River Becomes Clearer, Gufeng Goes Beyond Jiuyi
Beautiful Dingcheng Rise at the Foot of Taiyang Mountain

——A Brief Introduction of Dingcheng District

      Dingcheng District, encircling the Changde City proper, originally called the County of Changde and anciently called Lang Prefecture, has jurisdiction over 37 towns(including 4 farms). There are Wuling Mountain、Xuefeng Mountain standing and Yuan River、Li River joining in its territory. There are also defiles to close mountain passes and strategic barriers to blockade rivers, and there is a kind of momentum of guiding rivers and holding back lakes. Especially, there are thousands of big and tall trees with rosy clouds and flying mist on Taiyang Mountain which, as the remaining mountain range of Wuling Mountain, is called as “the first peak in the world”. Yuan River which flows through the territory of Dingcheng for 32 kilometre wins a renown of  “water from heaven”. Therefore, Ji Yuanheng, a poet in Ming Dynasty, highly praised with joy that “as the water of Yuan River becomes clearer, Gufeng goes beyond Jiuyi”. Wonderful mountains and rivers are nourishing the mysterious land, and the land is supporting ingenious people in Dingcheng. In recent years, guided by the CPC Dingcheng Committee and Dingcheng People Government, the Dingcheng people with a population of 880 thousand has adhered to the policy of “stimulating Dingcheng with opening and developing Dingcheng with industry and trade”. The people united to work hard and opened up to make progress, in return, they made unprecedented success in economic and social development. Nowadays, Dingcheng, covering 2,451 square kilometre, has radiated its vitality and vigour. The GDP of Dingcheng has reached RMB￥5935 million in 2004, and the common budgetary revenue of local finance is RMB￥150 million.

      Dingcheng has long history and bright culture. About 50 thousand years ago, ancestors of Dingcheng people has lived on the land of Dingcheng as proved by cultural relics of Old Stone Age unearthed in Caijiagang Township. The County of Linyuan was firstly set up after the First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C..  Since then, Dingcheng has always been one of the prefectures of different dynasties. There are so many historic sites and scenic splendours, such as, the Emperor’s Mound where Zhong Xiang began uprising, Laigong Spring on which Kou Zhun autographed the spring name, the National Huayanxi Forest Park with wonderful views and the secluded and unfathomable Longmen Cavity etc. From ancient times, many distinguished personages have got together in Dingcheng. Qu Yuan, the great poet in War Period, created many works of excellence in Dingcheng, and the same is true for a lot of scholars and writers of different dynasties. Liu Yuxi, a famous writer of Tang dynasty, wrote a lot of new ci, who opened up a new written pattern of poetr