Lóufán

Loufan lies in the mountains of western Shanxi, along the upper Fen River. Its name recalls an old frontier region where the Tang established an important horse-breeding administration in 641. A later county was established here in 889, when Loufan became the seat of Xianzhou. The early Ming reduced the county to a town under Jingle. Temples in the surrounding district received contributions from the town's inhabitants, whose names were recorded on Ming and Qing steles.