Qióngshān

Qiongshan lies in northern Hainan, near the strait separating the island from mainland Guangdong. The county was established in the Tang period and later became the seat of Qiongzhou prefecture. During the Ming and Qing dynasties its walled seat, known as Fucheng, was an administrative and cultural centre for the island. The county Confucian school was moved in 1371 and rebuilt in 1465; Qiu Jun, a scholar who had studied there, wrote an account of its restoration. Officials, students, merchants and farming communities all contributed to life around the prefectural centre, while sea crossings connected northern Hainan with the mainland.