Suìníng

Suining stands beside the Fu River in the Sichuan Basin. Its long history as an administrative centre is reflected in the old names Suizhou and Suining Prefecture. West of the town stands Guangde Temple, a Buddhist foundation associated with the Tang monk Keyou. Its buildings and fortunes changed over the centuries, and the temple received its Guangde name from the Ming court.

The Yuan reduced Suining Prefecture to a Zhou in 1282. Early Ming reforms absorbed the seat county of Xiaoxi and then reduced the Zhou to a county under Tongchuan. The surrounding rivers and roads continued to connect the settlement with other centres of eastern Sichuan, while temples such as Guangde preserved a religious life older than the changing names of the local administration.