Panyang River

Chinese name: 盘阳河（Pan Yang He）
Location: Bama Yao Ethnic County, Guangxi .
Ticket: Free
Estimated time of tour: 1-2hours
Recommended time of visit: all year
Nearby attractions: Crystal Palace, Bama Village, Birds Rock, Baimo Cave, etc.

Bama is an autonomous county of Yao ethnicity in Guangxi Zhuang (Bourau) Autonomous Region in south of China. It is 250km south of Nanning City, the provincial capital of Guangxi. The Panyang River crisscrosses its towns and villages. This region is famous for its high percentage of centenarian population, so the river is also called Longevity River by locals.

The river is a branch of Pear River (zhu jiang in Mandarin) water system, a large and affluent water system in south China. There are two sources to Panyang River. One source is located in Lintong Village of Fengshan County, another in Gengxin Village in Tian’e County. The Panyang River flows through Fengshan County, Bama County and Dahua County. In Dahua County it joints the Honghe River at Yantan Reservoir. It is named Panyang River because its middle sections are mostly in Panyang Village of Bama County. It flows through many caste mountainous region and many sections are flowing underground.

It flows underground in different sections in Fengshan County. It merges and submerges several times when it flows through Fengshan. It remerges on surface again in Bama County. What made this county stood out from its neighboring towns is its longevity rate among its population. The census in 1990 showed that there were 1958 old people who were among 80-99 years old in its 200,000 population. On top of that, there were 69 centenarians. That means there are 30.8 centenarians in every 100,000 people, the highest ratio of this kind in the world.

A combination of factors contributed to the high rate of longevity in this region in Bama County including its geology, climate, environment, food and the way people live their everyday life. The air in Bama and its surrounding is rich in negative oxygen ion (NAI) which is considered an indicator of high air quality. Some called it the vitamin of air. The famous scenic spots in Bama such as Crystal Palace and Bird Cave have 20,000-5,000 NAI units per 1 cubic centimeter. The banks of Panyang River have NAI content of 3000 units per cubic centimeter.