Méixiàn

Mei County lies between the Wei River and the northern slopes of the Qinling Mountains. At Xie Valley, a route through the mountains links the Wei plain to the Han River basin; the pass was guarded in ancient warfare and served as a place for storing grain. East of the county seat, Hengqu was the home of the Song philosopher Zhang Zai, who studied and taught there. His school of Confucian thought became known as the Guanzhong school, and a shrine was later established at the site of his academy.