Wèishì

Weishi lies on the central Henan plain southwest of Kaifeng. The county has ancient origins and belonged to Kaifeng prefecture during the Ming and Qing. Its county seat retained institutions that served the surrounding district, including a Confucian school rebuilt after destruction at the end of the Yuan period.

In 1431 the county magistrate Li Qi expanded the town's walls southward to include a densely settled suburb. Later repairs in the sixteenth century followed the deterioration of the walls. The Xingguo Temple pagoda, dating from the Northern Song, is another reminder of the county's long religious history.