Gāotáng

Gaotang was the seat of a department on the northwestern Shandong plain. Established under the Yuan in 1270, the department absorbed its seat county in the early Ming. Its walled town was protected by a deep moat, and officials repeatedly repaired its defences. In 1542 the prefect An Rushan added guard posts and rebuilt the battlements in brick; a decade later Hu Minbiao had the moat dredged. Heavy rain brought down sections of the wall in 1703.