Gùchéng

Gucheng lies beside the Grand Canal in the northern Chinese plain. The canal carried grain and other goods between the Yangtze region and the capital, and boats and merchants passed the county on their way north and south. Its waterside settlements became places where goods were collected and exchanged along this important route.

During the Ming and Qing, Gucheng’s position on the canal supported a lively local culture as well as commerce. The county produced writers including Ma Zhongxi and Sun Xu. A local gazetteer described the sails and grain boats passing south of the town, with the sounds of boatmen continuing day and night. The canal brought wealth and travellers to a county whose life was closely tied to the waterway.