The Past and Present of the "Cool Capital of China"

Liupanshui and Liupan Mountain have only one thing in common: they are both in China. Liupan Mountain was formed 50 million years ago, while the name Liupanshui has only been around for 50 years. Liupan Mountain is a mountain, but Liupanshui is a city. The name Liupanshui is actually a combination of the names of three places that make up the city. The "Liu" in Liupanshui comes from Liuzhi, the "pan" comes from Panzhou, which was established in the Tang Dynasty, and the "shui" comes from Shuicheng, which was established in the Qing Dynasty. These three places are the predecessors of the current Liuzhi Special District, Panzhou City, and Shuicheng District, which make up the main part of Liupanshui City. In 1964, the name Liupanshui was first used for a coal base established in the counties of Liuzhi, Panxian, and Shuicheng. Three years later, Liupanshui became an administrative district. In 1978, Liupanshui was officially upgraded to a city under the jurisdiction of Guizhou Province. However, the current municipal government of Liupanshui is not located in these three districts, but in Zhongshan District, which was separated from Shuicheng District in 1987. There are many examples of two places merging into a third place, but it is rare for three places to merge into a prefecture-level city in China. Fifty years have passed, and this "city brought by train" has shed its "Southwest Coal Sea" image and made a name for itself as the "Cool Capital of China" in the tourism-rich province of Guizhou. Liupanshui's cool summer is mainly due to its high altitude. It is the roof of Guizhou and home to the province's highest peak, Xiaojicai Mountain, which is 2,900.6 meters above sea level. However, the most typical landform you will see in Liupanshui is not "broken mountains and rivers," but the Wumeng Mountains, which are connected to each other. The cool 19°C temperature in the city and the diverse scenery of the Wumeng Grassland are the basic attractions of Liupanshui. In addition, the sea of rhododendrons on the grassland in spring, the golden ancient ginkgo trees in Tuole Village in autumn, and the 4A-level ski resort in Yeyuhai in winter are all reasons to visit this city again. If you prefer cultural tourism, the ancient town of Shuicheng and the industrial tourism of the Third Front Construction in Shuigang, the vibrant farmers' paintings in Shuicheng, and the ethnic customs represented by the long-horned Miao people in Suoga, Liuzhi are all good choices.