Fánchāng

Fanchang's county seat originally stood beside the Yangtze at present-day Xingang. That exposed position brought floods, warfare and the expense of entertaining officials travelling between the Ming capitals and the southeastern provinces. Magistrate Li Qing proposed moving inland; his successor Wang Xun carried out the relocation in 1457 to Jine township, beneath the hills beside the Exi River. The new site was more conveniently placed for the county's scattered inhabitants.

Successive magistrates built offices, schools, shrines, granaries and charitable institutions. Yu Yingchen's account of 1516 described the resulting administrative town. Substantial defensive walls came later: authorisation was obtained in 1622, but shortages and disagreement delayed construction. Work finally began in 1638 and ended in 1639, funded by levies assessed on farmland. Four gates enclosed the new circuit as the late Ming crisis made local defence increasingly urgent.