Liáochéng

Liaocheng stands on the western Shandong plain, where the Grand Canal brought boats and merchants to the seat of Dongchang. Its old city was laid out around the tall Guangyue Tower, whose timber storeys rise from a massive brick platform pierced by gates on four sides. The canal made the city a meeting place for traders from distant provinces.

In 1374, the early Ming garrison built the tower from timber left over after construction of the city walls. It served both as a lookout and a place from which the hours could be announced. The wealth of the canal trade later found expression in the guildhall of merchants from Shanxi and Shaanxi, built and enlarged between 1743 and 1809. Its ornate buildings offered those far from home a place to worship, meet and conduct business.