Wènshān

Wenshan is the mountainous country of the upper Min River, where narrow valleys lead northward from the Sichuan Basin. The name was shared by several old administrative seats: a local gazetteer recalls that both Maozhou and Wenchuan had been known as Wenshan. The Ming abolished Wenshan County and incorporated it into Maozhou. Roads through the gorge country continued to serve traffic toward Maozhou and Songpan, following the river through a landscape of steep rock and restricted passages.