Níngguó

Ningguo lies among the wooded mountains and river valleys of southern Anhui. Established as a county under the Eastern Han, it belonged to the larger Ningguo Prefecture, whose seat was at Xuancheng. In the mountains south of the county seat, Hule grew beside the Xijin River. The Ming established a patrol office there, and merchants and travellers passed along its old street. In 1715 a stone bridge with five arches was built across the river, joining the banks beneath the hills.