What's so special about Youxi in Sanming?

Youxi County, Sanming City, Fujian Province, is named after a river with the same name. Youxi is the most important river in the county, which can be said to be the "mother river". There are some small towns along this river. The town we are going to visit today has an interesting geographical location. It's Xibin Town.

Xibin Town is located on the left bank of Youxi, surrounded by water on three sides, like a small peninsula. This market town occupies the whole peninsula. Because the west is a mountainous area, the market town cannot be expanded, so there are buildings on both sides of the river. Surrounded by mountains and rivers, the small town is in the middle, which has to be reminiscent of Langzhong, Sichuan, a famous place of geomantic omen. Xibin town is very similar to Langzhong's terrain.

The county seat of Youxi County is also on Youxi River, but it is still about 45 kilometers upstream of Xibin. Xibin town is located in the northeast of the county, or downstream of Youxi. In the old society with high water transport status, the location advantage of Xibin Town can rival that of the county seat. The wharf in Xibin Town has become one of the important material distribution centers downstream of Youxi Waterway.

Let's talk about the origin of the place names in Xibin Town. The resident of Xibin Town is called Xiyang Village. Historically, Xibin Town was also called "Western Town". In the 1980s, the western commune was renamed Xibin commune, followed by Xibin township and today's Xibin town. Why change "West" to "West Coast"? Maybe I think the name "West" has the meaning of western countries, giving people a bad feeling, while Xibin is better.

The tourism resources of Xibin Town include Zheng's mansion in the village (Zheng's mansion, Yujingfang) and Shangnong forest restoration base.

Zheng's was built in the Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty, which lasted for ten years. It is large in scale and luxurious in style in terms of 108. It is a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit and a national key cultural relics protection unit. It is a treasure of folk architecture and has high artistic, architectural and historical value.