Chóngdé

Chongde lies on the canal between Hangzhou and Jiaxing, in the densely watered plain of northern Zhejiang. Founded as a county under Wuyue in 938, it retained a county school and Confucian temple whose site moved several times as the town developed. In 1361, during the turmoil at the end of Yuan rule, the temple was moved east of Wansui Bridge. The Ming restored Chongde to county status, and in 1662 the Qing renamed it Shimen to avoid the name of an imperial reign period.