Hándān

Handan was once the capital of the state of Zhao, whose rulers left the celebrated Congtai terrace above the city. By the Ming it was a county town on the northern plain, with river landings linking its markets to the Fuyang River. Its ancient name remained alive in stories as well as ruins: at a shrine north of the town, the tale of a scholar’s dream of wealth and office became a lesson on the fleeting nature of worldly ambition. In the sixteenth century officials enlarged the walls and dug a moat. In 1534 they joined Congtai to the fortifications and built a pavilion upon it, giving an ancient landmark a new place in the defences of the Ming town.