Dezhou

Dezhou () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Liaocheng to the southwest, Binzhou to the northeast, and the province of Hebei to the north. The King of Sulu Paduka Pahala from the first royal family on Sulu before the Hashemites went on a tribute mission to the Ming dynasty Yongle Emperor. He died of natural causes in China and his two sons and wife were left in the care of Hui Muslims in Dezhou, Shandong. The two families descended from the two sons were given the surnames An and Wen by the Ming Emperors. They lived through the Ming and Qing dynasties and still live in Dezhou today. The Kingdom of Sulu was converted to Islam, and the Hashemite Sharif ul-Hāshim of Sulu arrived in Sulu and married a princess of the previous non-Hashemite royal family, founding the Sulu Sultanate. Tausug delegations from Sulu have visited Dezhou to see the descendants of the previous royal family. Qianlong's first empress, Empress Xiaoxianchun, died on the 8th day of the 3rd month of the 13th year of Qianlong at the age of 37, on board a boat in Dezhou under circumstances that were not well documented by historical sources. Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China The municipality of Dezhou comprises thirteen county-level sub divisions: Districts Decheng District (德城区). The government of the prefecture-level city is located in this sub division. Lingcheng District (陵城区) Cities Cities (县级市 xianji shi) administered by Dezhou are: Leling (乐陵市) Yucheng (禹城市) Counties Counties (县 xian) administered by Dezhou are: Pingyuan (平原县) Xiajin (夏津县) Wucheng (武城县) Qihe (齐河县) Linyi (临邑县) Ningjin (宁津县) Qingyun (庆云县) Development zones Dezhou Economic Development District (德州经济开发区) Dezhou Yunhe Economic Development District (德州运河经济开发区) The Yellow river and the Grand Canal runs through Dezhou, making it an important hub for cargo transit since antient times. It was described as "Junction of Nine Arteries" () and "Portal of the Capital" ().