In 201, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty established a county in the territory of modern Ganzhou. In those early years, ethnic Han settlement and authority in the area was minimal and largely restricted to the Gan River basin. During the Sui Dynasty the county administration was promoted to prefecture status and the area called Qianzhou. During the Song Dynasty immigration from the north bolstered the local population and drove local aboriginal tribes further into the hills. Especially after the fall of the Northern Song capital of Kaifeng, migrants increased dramatically. The name was officially changed to Ganzhou in the Southern Song. Between 1929 and 1934, Ganzhou formed a part of the Jiangxi Soviet, one of the bases of the Communist Party of China. Due to its proximity to the Red capital Ruijin, Ganzhou was subject to a number of Kuomintang encirclement campaigns.    Hi Res Pic (220K)