Jiànshuǐ

Jianshui is an old walled town in southern Yunnan, long a centre of government and learning. Its name is a Chinese rendering of an older local name for a great body of water. The town became the seat of Lin'an Prefecture under the Ming, and its streets, schools and temples reflected its importance to the surrounding country.

A Confucian temple was founded here in 1285 and enlarged repeatedly under the Ming and Qing. Its courtyards and halls made it one of the great centres of Confucian learning in the southwest. The Ming also expanded the town walls; the eastern gate tower, completed in 1389, became known as Chaoyang Tower. The prefectural offices, established in 1382 and later rebuilt, stood near the temple, joining the business of government with the ceremonial life of the town. Under the Qing, flourishing commerce supported new academies, ancestral halls and houses within the old city.