Huìzhōu

Huizhou in Longyou was the predecessor of Huining in Gansu. By the Yuan period its administrative seat occupied the former Xining fortified town near the Zuli River. The site consisted of three adjoining enclosures built of rammed loess, protected by gates, projecting entrance defences and an outer ditch. Its position joined a substantial defensive circuit to the river valley.

In 1352 the government changed Huizhou's name to Huiningzhou following destructive earthquakes in the district. Ming administration subsequently placed it within Gongchang prefecture. A further reorganisation in 1377 reduced the department to Huining county and transferred the seat to the location of the later county town. The old fortified site gradually lost its administrative purpose and fell into disuse. Huizhou's history therefore includes a movement of the governing centre as well as a change of name and rank. The abandoned earth walls belong to that earlier seat, rather than to an unchanged town occupying one site throughout the Ming and Qing.