Huázhōu

Huazhou lies south of the Wei River beneath the slopes of Lesser Mount Hua. Streams descending from the Qinling cross the plain here before joining the Wei. The prefecture had its seat at Hua County, an old centre in the eastern Guanzhong region, between the mountains and the river. On the night of 23 January 1556, a great earthquake struck the Wei valley with its centre in the Hua County region. Contemporary accounts describe immense destruction across Huazhou, Huayin, Weinan and other neighbouring districts. Mountains collapsed, the ground split and many buildings fell; the disaster was remembered throughout the Ming realm as one of the most devastating earthquakes in its history.