Qīngjiāng

Qingjiang lies at the meeting of the Gan and Yuan rivers in central Jiangxi. Its market town of Zhangshu became famous for medicinal herbs, their preparation and trade. Waterways brought merchants and plants from the surrounding country, while the medicine dealers of Zhangshu carried their skills and goods to distant cities.

By the Ming, Zhangshu was known as a medicinal port. During the Qing, its merchants and practitioners formed a recognised trading network, sometimes called the Linjiang or Linfeng group after the districts from which they came. Their methods of preparing herbs gave the town a reputation that travelled with their wares. Boats on the Gan linked its shops and warehouses to the Yangtze basin and the routes south.