Chénggù

Chenggu lies in the Hanzhong basin beside the Han River, south of the Qinling Mountains. Established as a county under Qin, it was the home of Zhang Qian, the Han envoy whose journeys opened diplomatic contact with the lands of Central Asia. His tomb west of the town became a place of local remembrance. The Ming county gazetteer recorded the tomb, and a Qing gazetteer mentioned a shrine honouring him among the district's worthies. From 1370 Chenggu belonged to the Ming prefecture of Hanzhong.