Liánzhōu

Lianzhou stands in northern Guangdong on the upper Lian River, near the mountain routes to Hunan and Guangxi. Its Huiguang Pagoda, a six-sided brick tower rebuilt in the Song, rises above the old town. The tower's storeys and bracketed eaves preserve a Buddhist architectural tradition of brick and timber. The city's administrative status changed under successive dynasties. After alterations in the early Ming, Lianzhou was restored under Guangzhou Prefecture in 1381. In 1727 the Qing raised it to a directly administered prefecture, giving it a higher standing within Guangdong's provincial government.