Jiànshǐ

Jianshi occupied the mountainous approaches between Kui prefecture in Sichuan and the Shi region to the south. Its Qing gazetteer described it as a throat between Shu and Chu, with Fengjie and Wushan to the west and north and Badong to the east. The county's position mattered even when its provincial affiliation changed.

In 1735 the Qing transferred Jianshi from Kuizhou to the newly organised Shinan Prefecture in Hubei. The gazetteer explains that Jianshi lay on the necessary route from Shinan toward the provincial interior. Yet these connections were physically difficult. At Yixian Cliff a narrow path wound across precipitous slopes; at Yanzi Kan travellers without an inn sometimes lodged in the rock recess. Most county streams were too shallow, narrow and obstructed by shoals for boats. The Qing River offered a navigable outlet, with small craft used toward Changyang and larger vessels beyond. Imperial boundaries therefore overlaid a concrete network of mountain paths, river landings and difficult crossings.