Why it looks like this

Linyi is southern Shandong's metropolis, an ancient county seat (calligrapher Wang Xizhi was born here) that the modern era rebuilt around trade: its wholesale market city — thousands of halls selling everything from hardware to toys — made it a national byword for logistics.

The Yi River and its tributaries thread the city, crossed by long bridges and lined with new districts; the map is a broad plain grid opening along the water.