The history of Zhangjiakou

Zhangjiakou is a city with a long history in north China's Hebei province. Early in the late primitive society, Huangdi, or the Yellow Emperor, the legendary first ancestor of the Chinese nation, built a city in his own name in Zhuolu of Zhangjiakou, after defeating Chiyou, the leader of another major Chinese tribe, in the well-known Zhuolu Battle that marked the beginning of Chinese civilization.

Since then, Zhangjiakou has become a place of coexistence between the Han people and other ethnic groups. Many ethnic groups set up their regimes in Zhangjiakou during its long history. During the Spring and Autumn (770-476 BC) and Warring States (475-221 BC) periods, the northern area of Zhangjiakou was occupied by nomadic Xiongnu and Donghu people and its southern part belonged to the states of Yan and Dai. The central government of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) divided the present area of Zhangjiakou into the Dai and Shanggu prefectures. A large part of modern Zhangjiakou was under the jurisdiction of the You prefecture, while its remaining area was controlled by nomadic tribes such as the Wuhuan, Xiongnu and Xianbei during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). The eastern section of Zhangjiakou belonged to the Zhuo prefecture and the remainder was administered by the Yanmen prefecture in the Sui Dynasty (581-618). The Turkic clan ruled the northern part of Zhangjiakou while the southern area was under the jurisdiction of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The entire area of Zhangjiakou belonged to the Xijing prefecture in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) and the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) and to Zhongshu province in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). It then belonged to Shuntian prefecture in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644); excluding Yuxian county which was under the administration of the Datong prefecture. During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), southern Zhangjiakou was part of the Xuanhua prefecture and the northern section belonged to Duolunnuo'er, Dushikou and Zhangjiakou counties. Zhangjiakou became the capital city of Chahaer province in 1928. Many counties of Zhangjiakou set up separate governments to join with other places in the country to fight the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-1945).

The province of Chahaer was eventually dissolved in November 1952 after it was reestablished in 1946. The readjustment of administrative division saw the official formation of the Zhangjiakou municipal-level administrative area, which together with Xuanhua belonged to Hebei. That area, whose headquarters was located in Zhangjiakou city, was subject to frequent annulment and reestablishment from May 1958 to December 1967. The newly formed Zhangjiakou region governed 12 counties such as Kangbao, Guyuan and Zhangbei until it was incorporated into Zhangjiakou city in 1992.

Zhangjiakou city was put under the direct leadership of Hebei province in November 1983.Its jurisdiction covered Xuanhua county and six district-level areas until two of them were dismantled in December 1989.

A high-tech industrial development zone was established in Zhangjiakou city in 1992, a year which also bore witness to the integration of the former Zhangjiakou region with Zhangjiakou city.

Former Chabei and Guyuan pasturelands were renamed as the Chabei and Saibei administrative areas when they were transferred to Zhangjiakou city from the Hebei Agricultural Reclamation Bureau in March 2003. The Southern Zhangjiakou Industrial Zone was incorporated with the Zhangjiakou High-tech Industrial Development Zone in April 2004. An industrial cluster was approved to be set up in the city in September 2007.

The State Council formally approved the readjustment of Zhangjiakou's administrative division in January 2016. The readjustment abolished the former Xuanhua, Wanquan and Chongli counties and elevated them to district-level regions under the city’s direct leadership. Since then, the city has governed a municipal area of roughly 6,378 square kilometers.

In a further round of readjustment of administrative division in August 2017, Dacanggai and Dongwangshan towns were put under the jurisdiction of Qiaodong district. Shalingzi township was administered by the economic and technological development zone with the authorization of Qiaoxi district. Yaojiafang township belonged to Qiaoxi district but was administered by the economic and technological development zone. At the same time, the administration of Taipingzhai village was handed back to Xuanhua from the economic and technological development zone.

As of 2019, Zhangjiakou city governed the six districts and 10 counties of Qiaodong, Qiaoxi, Xuanhua, Xiahuayuan, Wanquan, Chongli, Zhangbei, Kangbao, Guyuan, Shangyi, Yuxian, Yangyuan, Huai'an, Huai'lai, Zhuolu and Chicheng. They were together composed of 23 sub-district offices, 207 townships and two town-level areas of ethnic groups. There were 332 neighborhood committees and 4,174 village committees in the entire city that year.