Xuanhua District

Xuanhua (Chinese: 宣化; pinyin: Xuānhuà) is a district in Zhangjiakou prefecture-level city in Hebei Province, China.

Xuanhua is 180 km (112 mi) north-west of Beijing. It has a population of 274,000 people. Xuanhua is a very old city with a rich military and agricultural history. In modern times it has also become an industrial area, and now contains a high-tech development zone where new developments are being promoted by the government of Hebei Province.

History

Zhu Di, prior to becoming the Yongle Emperor, was the Prince of Yan, ruling in Xuanhua.

Xuanhua is home to a Liao dynasty (960-1127) tomb with a colored star atlas painted with 268 stars including the sun, the moon and five planets—Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

In January 2016, the former rural Xuanhua County surrounding the urban Xuanhua merged with the urban Xuanhua District to established Greater Xuanhua District with both rural and urban area combined.

Military

Historically, Xuanhua has been the "Gateway to Beijing," a city with a large garrison that was close enough to the capital to be strategically vital.

Xuanhua was also the garrison headquarters for the soldiers on the Xuanda-Shanxi Military Area, commanding Xuanfu Zhen, Datong Zhen and ShanxiZhen of the Great Wall, one of the three military governorships of the great wall in the Ming Dynasty.

Xuanhua has a set of city walls built in the Ming Dynasty which are still partly intact.

Agriculture

Known in ancient times as "The Grape Town," Xuanhua farmers grow a wide variety of grapes. Some grapes are used for wine production, but much of the crop is sold as fruit. In autumn, a large number of farmers sell grapes on streetsides out of hand-carts or trucks.

Industry

Xuanhua contains

• coal
• iron
• gold
• amargosite
• rich shale
• dolomite
• bentonite - Xuanhua has one of the largest deposits of bentonite in China.

and other mineral resources.

Its key industries are

• metallurgy
• machinery manufacturing
• chemical production
• electrical power generation
• papermaking
• woolskin tanning

and

• brewing - the locally produced beer is "Zhōnglóu Píjiǔ" (钟楼　啤酒）or Bell-tower Beer.

Administrative Divisions^[1]

Subdistricts:

• Tianqinsi Subdistrict (天泰寺街道), Huangcheng Subdistrict (皇城街道), Nanguan Subdistrict (南关街道), Nanda Avenue Subdistrict (南大街街道), Dabei Avenue Subdistrict (大北街街道), Gongye Avenue Subdistrict (工业街街道), Jianguo Avenue Subdistrict (建国街街道)

Towns:

• Pangjiabu Town (庞家堡镇), Yanghenan Town (洋河南镇), Shenjing Town (深井镇), Guocun Town (崞村镇), Jiajiaying Town (贾家营镇), Gujiaying Town (顾家营镇), Zhaochuan Town (赵川镇)

Townships:

• Hezixi Township (河子西乡), Chunguang Township (春光乡), Houjiamiao Township (侯家庙乡), Wangjiawan Township (王家湾乡), Tarcun Township (塔儿村乡), Jiangjiatun Township (江家屯乡), Lijiabu Township (李家堡乡)

References

• "Favorable Environment For Investment & Foreign Cooperation Projects in Xuanhua Prefecture". China Business World. Archived from the original on March 10, 2005. Retrieved March 24, 2005. 
• "Xuanhua Grapes". Click China. Retrieved March 24, 2005. 
• "meet-greatwall". South China Morning Post. Retrieved March 24, 2005. 

Coordinates: 40°035′N 115°02′E / 40.583°N 115.033°E / 40.583; 115.033