Kǎochéng

Kaocheng was an eastern Henan county whose administrative life repeatedly had to move with the Yellow River. Successive floods forced changes of county seat. Its last imperial seat was established at Guyang during the Qianlong reign, where a small walled town became the centre of local government, education and commerce.

The town stood near the boundary between Henan and Shandong. Its streets commonly met in T-junctions rather than broad crossroads, creating a close network within the walls. County offices, a drill ground, temples, schools and an academy occupied the enclosed space. The defences combined substantial walls with a surrounding moat and four gates fitted with drawbridges. Officials and institutions needed a defended urban home even when the site itself had changed. Kaocheng's history therefore cannot be attached to a single ancient street plan. The name followed an enduring county jurisdiction through relocations, while the Qianlong-period town at Guyang represents the final seat of that older administrative tradition.