Jīnxiāng

Jinxiang lies in the low plain of southwestern Shandong, west of a chain of lakes. The county’s fertile land has long been vulnerable to flooding as well as drought, shaped by changes in the Yellow River and neighbouring waterways. In 1781 a breach of the Yellow River at Qinglonggang sent floodwater across the region; more than half of Jinxiang was submerged, and only a small part of the county town remained above the water.