Huai'an

Long an important regional center, Huai'an lies on and is named for the Huai River, the historical boundary between northern and southern Chinese culture. Once much closer to the East China Sea, it now lies in the middle of Jianghuai, the vast alluvial plain created by silt from the Huai and the Yellow River, which flowed nearby for centuries prior to the massive floods in the mid-19th century which returned it to its old course north of Shandong. Huai'an is known as the birthplace of Han Xin, a famed general who helped found the Han dynasty and overwhelm Xiang Yu in the Chu-han Contention; Wu Cheng'en, the Ming dynasty author of Journey to the West; and Zhou Enlai, a prominent Communist leader who served as premier of the PRC from 1949 until his death in 1976.