Yangxin has seven neolithic sites and eight Shang-Zhou Dynasties sites. In 201 BC, the county was built as Xiazhi ; the name "Yangxin" first appeared during the Jin Dynasty. From the Northern and Southern dynasties period, Hubei province became a noteworthy tea-producing area. It became Xingguo Army during the Song Dynasty. During this period, Confucian schools were introduced into Xingguo. In the Yuan Dynasty, it was called Xingguo Road and had the biggest silver production among all roads in Hubei. During the Qing Dynasty the Yangxin area became Xingguo Prefecture. In the late Qing Dynasty, Yangxin County served as the headquarters for the west march of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The prefecture was turned into a county in 1912 and changed its name to Yangxin County in 1914. In 1926, a Communist Party of China committee was established, and Yangxin became a center of communist activities in Southeast Hubei. In the Second Sino-Japanese War, the people of Yangxin formed four counter-Japanese base areas and fought the Battle of Wuhan in order to protect Wuhan. Yangxin was occupied by the 43rd Army, 15th Legion, Fourth Field Army of the People's Liberation Army on May 16, 1949.
Yangxin county occupies the southern half of the Huangshi City, bordering on Jiangxi in the south, with Tongshan County in the west. The Yangtze River flows along the county's eastern border. The southern part of the county, located in the foothills of the Mufu Mountains, is riddled with many small hills. The county's main urban area is Xingguo Town—usually referred to simply as Yangxin, as is normally the case in Chinese counties. Other large towns include Longgang and Futu.
Infrastructure
Road network
The main transportation artery of the county is China National Highway 106 which is also known as China National Highway 316 within the county. However, it does not pass through the Yangxin county seat, Xingguo town; the town is served by Hubei Provincial Highway 316.
Transport
The Yangxin Railway Station is located on the Wuhan–Jiujiang Railway, which runs from Wuhan to Jiujiang, Jiangxi. A number of passenger trains running from the Wuchang station in Wuhan stop at the Yangxin Railway Station. The distance from the Yangxin station to Wuchang by rail is and the typical travel time by train is around two hours. The train regularly stops at the Huangshi station, Ezhou, and Huazhong.
