Kǔyù

Kuyu was a walled town in the Guazhou oasis, among old fields and irrigation channels fed by the Shule River. Its extensive walls enclosed a settlement on the route between the eastern garrisons and Dunhuang. In 1435 the people of Shazhou Garrison moved to Kuyu, and Ming troops helped repair its defences, completing the work in 1441. They were moved onward to Ganzhou a few years later. The town, later known as Suoyangcheng, declined as the frontier and the courses of water changed.