Rènchéng

Rencheng was an old county seat on the Shandong plain, at the site that became Jining. The Grand Canal passed through this region, linking the waters of the south with the northern route towards the capital. In 1289 the Yuan dug the Huitong Canal from the Dongping area past Dongchang to Linqing, completing a more direct north–south waterway. The Ming reduced Jining to a department in 1385 and incorporated Rencheng County, the seat, into it.