Jiāohé

Jiaohe was a county of the Hejian region on the North China Plain. Its name referred to converging waterways, and its territory included the canal-side market town of Botou. This was the Hebei county, distinct from the much older ruined city of Jiaohe in Xinjiang. Under the Yuan it belonged to Xianzhou; Ming reorganisation subsequently altered its status and direct superior.

In 1377 Jiaohe was abolished and merged into Xian County. It was restored in 1380 under Hejian Prefecture, an affiliation retained through the Qing. The local chronicle records a different kind of disruption in 1511, when forces associated with Liu Liu attacked Jiaohe and then plundered Botou. Waterways were important both to the county's identity and to the routes running through it: the Ming geographical history describes the Wei or Imperial River passing its eastern territory and a patrol office at Botou. County government, canal traffic and the vulnerability of market settlements consequently formed closely connected parts of its early modern setting.