Tánchéng

Tancheng is an old county town in southern Shandong, near the Shu River. During the sixteenth century its magistrates strengthened the walls and added gate towers; in 1594 the walls and gates were rebuilt in brick. The town's appearance changed abruptly in 1668, when a violent earthquake brought down the walls, towers and houses. A flood on the Shu River damaged the northern wall ten years later, and repairs continued into the eighteenth century.