Shòuyáng

Shouyang is an old county town on the uplands east of the Taiyuan basin. In 1577 heavy rain destroyed much of its wall, and the magistrate Wang Yangxiu had it rebuilt with a broad base and a deep moat. The county was also home to the scholar Qi Yunshi, who passed the highest civil examination in 1778. Exiled to Ili in 1805, he used his travels and learning to write about the history and geography of the northwestern frontier.