Mínggǎng

Minggang stands near the upper Huai River north of Xinyang. The river comes from the mountains to the west and, in the old geographical account of Xinyang, receives the Minggang River before bending east toward Luoshan. During the Ming and Qing this district belonged to Xinyang Prefecture. Nearby settlements grew along the river and the routes across the plain, in a landscape marking the approach to the hills farther south.