Liangshan County () is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

situated in the southwest of

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

province, China. It is administered by the

prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. During the Republican era, many of China' ...

Jining Jining () is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Shandong province. It borders Heze to the southwest, Zaozhuang to the southeast, Tai'an to the northeast, and the provinces of Henan and Jiangsu to the northwest and south respectively. Jining ...

Geography

Liangshan County is situated north west of Jining in the south west of

province. To the east it borders the prefecture-level cities of

Tai'an Tai'an () is a prefecture-level city in Western Shandong Province of the People's Republic of China. Centered on Mount Tai, the city borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the north, Zibo to the east, Linyi to the southeast, Liaocheng to ...

Heze Heze, formerly known as Caozhou, is the westernmost prefecture-level city in Shandong province, China, it borders Jining to the east and the provinces of Henan and Anhui to the west and south respectively. History Caozhou was at the center ...

to the west. To the north, the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...

separates Liangshan from

Puyang Puyang is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Henan province, People's Republic of China. Located on the northern shore of the Yellow River, it borders Anyang in the west, Xinxiang in the southwest, and the provinces of Shandong and Hebei ...

, in

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

province.

Climate

History

The area was from prehistoric times surrounded by the largest marshland in north China, called the Daye Marsh and later the Liangshan Marsh. Because the area was largely a wasteland on the frontiers of several administrative units, government control was minimal, and bandit chiefs were active in the area. During the Song Dynasty Liang Shan (Mount Liang) became known as the "eight hundred li moorage of Mount Liang" and located at the extreme north of the Yellow River which passed through the area. When the Yellow River shifted course in 1289, the marshes of Liangshan shrunk considerably. During the Ming Dynasty it had been reduced to five smaller marshlands. Banditry continued on Mount Liang until the mid-seventeenth century, when the Qing Dynasty government established a military garrison. The city of Liangshan evolved from the garrison. After the Yellow River shifted back to its northern course in 1853, the marshes were gradually filled in by sediments carried downstream by the river and human land reclamation. Today the relatively small

Dongping Lake The Dongping Lake () is a freshwater lake in Shandong Province of China. It is situated in Dongping County in the west of Shandong Province, south of the lower reaches of Yellow River. The lake has a total area of about 148 square kilometers. The ...

() is what remains of the great marshes.

Administrative divisions

As 2012, this county is divided to 9 towns and 4 townships. ;Towns ;Townships

Tourism

The famous mountain

Mount Liang Mount Liang (, often referred to in Chinese as ) is a mountain in Liangshan County, Shandong, China which rises to 197.9 metres above sea level. It is well known as the stronghold of the 108 Heroes in the classic Chinese novel ''Water Margi ...

(Liáng Shān) rises to 197.9 m above sea level is located within Liangshan County administrative territory. It is well known as the stronghold of the 108 legendary Song Dynasty heroes of the classic Chinese novel the ''

Water Margin ''Water Margin'' (''Shuihu zhuan'') is one of the earliest Chinese novels written in vernacular Mandarin, and is attributed to Shi Nai'an. It is also translated as ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' and ''All Men Are Brothers''. The story, which is s ...

''.

Transportation

China National Highway 220 China National Highway 220 (G220) runs from Binzhou, Shandong to Zhengzhou, Henan. It is 585 kilometres in length and runs southwest from Binzhou towards Zhengzhou. Route and distance See also * China National Highways The China National H ...

References

* http://www.cfguide.com/county/Liangshan.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20170819191901/http://www.liangshan.gov.cn/index.aspx?lanmuid=40&sublanmuid=438 Water Margin Counties of Shandong Jining {{Shandong-geo-stub