Ānlù

Ānlù lies in the central Hubei lowlands south of the Tongbo and Dahong mountains. The Fu River runs north to south through the territory, receives the Zhang River and continues toward the Yangtze basin. Low hills with scattered ridges surround broad cultivated ground, while streams and ponds break the plain. Rice fields and waterways made the district productive and connected it with Xiaogan and Wuhan.

A settlement named Anlu existed in the Chu state, and its county was later divided into several neighboring units. The name has been explained as secure land or as a place where displaced people were settled. By the Song period Anlu was the seat of De’an Prefecture, a position it retained through the Yuan and Ming. Its walls, offices and markets formed the administrative centre for the surrounding Jianghan countryside. The river remained its main artery.

In 1132 the town withstood the siege of De’an during the Song–Jin wars. The defense became part of local memory, while the fertile plain continued to support rice, fishing and water transport. The city also became associated with the Tang poet Li Bai, who lived for years on nearby Báizhào Mountain. Its historical character joins riverine agriculture with the strategic importance of a defended prefectural seat.