Hēizhāng

Heizhang was the former name of present-day Hezhang, in the Wusa highlands of northwestern Guizhou. Earlier it was known as Motechuan, a name associated with the river beside the settlement. A relay station had already been established here under the Yuan. In 1382, Fu Youde's Ming army advanced east from Wusa, killed the local chief An Zhengbang and built an earthen-walled stronghold on the southern bank of the Qian River.

The settlement remained tied to the Wusa road. In 1387, its station was ordered to hold grain for men assigned to military service as punishment. Warfare destroyed the earthen fort in 1572, after which defence rested with military farming units. The Qing re-established this transport role: Heizhang was among the relay posts organised on the Wusa route in 1738, under Weining's jurisdiction. During the Jiaqing reign, the station employed more than two hundred labourers, making the movement of people and supplies an enduring part of local history.