Longquan

Longquan (simplified Chinese: 龙泉; traditional Chinese: 龍泉; pinyin: Lóngquán) is a county-level city under the administration of in the municipal region of Lishui City in the southwest of Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China, located on the upper reaches of the Ou River.

The name literally means "Dragon Fountain".

Demographics

Longquan currently has a population of around 270,000.

There is an Ethnic Township set aside for the She-nation minority at Zhuyang (竹垟).

Notable Features

Longquan is famous locally for its swords and porcelain, both of which are often regarded as the finest in China. The swords made in Longquan (Longquanjian) are famous among martial artists in China. Modern sword production is now led by a workshop named "Shenguanglong" whose sword-making history can be traced back to the twentieth year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty. There are several private and state-owned swords-making factories in Longquan. They welcome visitors and the tours are available. However, the tourists must be very careful when buying swords from some of the local factories: even the high price tag specimens can be of a poor quality, especially when it concerns their fittings (e.g., www.lqbj.cn). Equally, Longquan porcelain (Longquanyao) is highly prized among collectors. Longquanyao had 1800 years' history before unfortunately disappearing during the Qing Dynasty.