Transport

Dezhou lies on the main rail route from Beijing to Shanghai, which is known as Jinghu Railway. It is also one of the 23 stations on the exclusive Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway. Dezhou has always been an important transport hub since ancient times, with its reputation of "Junction of Nine Arteries" （九达天衢）and "Portal of the Capital" （神京门户）gradually established. In addition to two railways (the other is Shide Railway leading to Shijiazhuang), National Highway 104, 105 and some provincial roads cross the city as well. The Yellow River and the Grand Canal (China) both run through it.

History

Sulu Royal FamilyThe 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 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.