Qīngshuǐ

Qingshui stands south of the Niutou River, among the valleys of the Longshan foothills. Its county seat was moved here in the ninth century, and a walled town was built in 1017. Local tradition calls the district the birthplace of the Yellow Emperor, Xuanyuan; the Ming scholar Hu Zuanzong wrote a stele and a town-gate inscription celebrating that claim. In 1371 the magistrate Liu De rebuilt the town on the site of the Song walls. Its eastern and western suburbs were fortified during the Hongzhi and Wanli reigns. In 1631 Yongqing Fort was built on the upland southwest of the town as an additional defence, and the walls were repaired several times under the Qing.