Dìngxī

Dingxi lies in the dry hills of central Gansu, on the routes between the Wei River basin and Lanzhou. The Song established a fortified post here during its contests with Western Xia, and the Jin made it a county and later a Zhou. After an earthquake in 1352 the Yuan renamed the district Anding, meaning peace and stability. The Ming reduced it to Anding County in 1377, placing it under Gongchang Prefecture. Its earlier frontier forts remained landmarks along the roads through the loess country.