Guangyuan

Guangyuan is a prefecture-level city in Sichuan Province, China. Situated in the north of Sichuan Province, Guangyuan City is bordered by Gansu and Shaanxi provinces to the north and Nanchong, Mianyang and Bazhong to the south west and east. Guangyuan's economy is based on a diverse array of heavy industry, as well as mining and agriculture. It is an ancient city, notable for its relics and tombs. Plant 821, a large plutonium producing reactor is located near Guangyuan. From the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476) to the Warring States Period (476-221), this city was the capital of Ju Kingdom. The Chinese named it 'Lizhou' in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), because it is the birthplace of the only female emperor in Chinese history, Empress Wu Zetian. The name of the city was changed from Lizhou to Guangyuan during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and it is still been used as the name of the district where the city government is seated.

Jianmen Shu Road, also known as the ancient plank road, was the main pass from Central China to Southwest China through Shu. The pass runs from Hanzhong City in Shaanxi to Chengdu. Huangze Temple was built on the bank of Jiangling River as a place for the cults which favored Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in the Chinese history. Thousand-Buddha Cliff, located 5 kilometers north of downtown Guangyuan on the east bank of Jialing River, is home to the largest grotto in Sichuan.