Baoding is a prefecture-level city in central Hebei province, approximately southwest of Beijing. As of the 2020 census, Baoding City had 11,544,036 inhabitants, of which 2,549,787 lived in the metropolitan area made of 4 out of 5 urban districts: Lianchi, Jingxiu, Qingyuan, and Mancheng all of which are largely .
Baoding was the capital of Zhili Province and the residence of the Viceroy of Zhili in the Qing dynasty. The city was also the capital of Hebei province until 1968, and is now a national historical and cultural city and one of the central cities in the Jing-Jin-Ji cluster,
Name
Baoding was known as Shanggu, Baozhou, Shoocheng and Baofu in ancient times.
The city's name, Baoding (links=no),
dates back to the
Song dynasty and
Yuan dynasty dynasties, In 1239, the Yuan Dynasty changed the name of Shuntian Army to Shuntian Road, which means "complying with the destiny of heaven", and Baozhou was renamed Luzhi (). Because Baozhou was the southern gate of the capital in the Yuan Dynasty, Shuntian Road was changed to Baoding Road in 1275, which means "defend the capital and stabilize the world".
The name is roughly interpreted as "protecting the capital", referring to the city's proximity to
Beijing.
History
Baoding has a history dating back to the Western Han Dynasty.
Prehistory
The
Nanzhuangtou site near
Baiyang Lake is one of the earliest
Neolithic site discovered in
North China, dating back approximately 10,500–9,700 years.
Other Neolithic sites in Baoding include
Diaoyutai Site and
Beifudi.
Early history
During the Warring States period, what is now Baoding was along the dividing line between the Yan and Zhao states.
One of the capitals of Yan during this period, Xiadu, is located in what is now Yi County, and from 400 to 300 BC may have been the largest cities in the world, with an estimated population of over 300,000.[George Modelski, World Cities: –3000 to 2000, Washington DC: FAROS 2000, 2003. .]
Imperial era
In 960 the
Song dynasty established the
Baozhou prefecture ("Baozhou") with the administrative office in Baosai County (modern Baoding).
This lasted until 1241, when the
Mongol Empire (who conquered the Jin dynasty in 1234) abolished it, incorporating Baozhou into the
Zhongshu Sheng.
In the year 1213 the Mongol army invaded and destroyed Baozhou, leaving it in ruins until it was reconstructed in 1227 during the Yuan dynasty. The region acquired the name "Baoding" in 1275.
In 1669, Baoding became the capital of Zhili Province, ruled over by a Viceroy until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912.
In 1902, Yuan Shikai, then Viceroy, established the Baoding Military Academy. Birthplace of many famous ROC and Communist generals in the early 20th century.
Contemporary history
On August 1, 1949, the People's Government of Hebei province was established, Baoding was the capital of the province, and the city of Baoding was a provincial municipality. On August 9, the administrative inspector's office of the Baoding district was established, and it was established as the administrative inspector's office of the county district.
In May 1958, the capital of Hebei was moved to Tianjin, then back to Baoding in January 1966, to Shijiazhuang in February 1968. In December 1994, the Baoding area merged with Baoding to become a provincial city.
In April 2017, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council announced the decision to transform Baoding's Xiong County, Rongcheng County, and Anxin County counties into Xiong'an New Area, a new development area of national significance, with a focus on innovation, sustainability and quality of life, following the successes of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and Shanghai's Pudong New Area.
Geography
Baoding is located in the west-central portion of Hebei province and lies on the North China Plain, with the Taihang Mountains to the west. Bordering prefecture-level cities in the province are
Zhangjiakou to the north,
Langfang and
Cangzhou to the east, and Shijiazhuang and
Hengshui to the south. Baoding also borders Beijing to the northeast and
Shanxi to the west.
The geographical coordinates of Baoding are between 113°40'-116°20' east longitude and 38°10'-40°00' north latitude.
Elevations in Baoding's administrative area decrease from northwest to southeast. The western parts are dominated by mountains and hills that are generally more than tall; this area includes parts of Laishui County, Yi, Mancheng, Shunping County, Tang County, and Fuping Counties as well as the entirety of Laiyuan County, occupying 30.6% of the prefecture's area.
Climate
Baoding has a continental,
monsoon-influenced humid continental climate/semi-arid climate (Köppen
Dwa/BSk),
[Peel, M. C. and Finlayson, B. L. and McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11: 1633-1644. ISSN 1027-5606.] characterised by hot, humid summers due to the East Asian monsoon, and generally cold, windy, very dry winters that reflect the influence of the vast Siberian anticyclone. Spring can bear witness to sandstorms blowing in from the Mongolian steppe, accompanied by rapidly warming, but generally dry, conditions. Autumn is similar to spring in temperature and lack of rainfall. The annual rainfall, about 60% of which falls in July and August alone, is highly variable and not reliable. The average annual runoff is 2.45 billion cubic meters.
In the city itself, this amount has averaged to a meagre per annum. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from in January to in July, and the annual mean is . There are 2,500 to 2,900 hours of bright sunshine annually, and the frost-free period lasts 165−210 days.
Administrative divisions
Bǎodìng prefecture-level city consists of 5 municipal districts, 4 county-level cities, 15 counties:
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! Xiong'an New Area | |
| Note: Baoding New High Technology Product Development Zone (保定高新技术产业开发区) includes Damafang Township (大马坊乡) of Jingxiu District and Jiantai Township (贤台乡) of Mancheng District; the Baigou New City (白沟新城) includes Baigou Town (白沟镇) of Gaobeidian City. |
Demographics
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| Note: The 58,709 people residing in Baoding High Technology Product Development Zone and the 124,274 in the Baigou New City are not listed separately. |
According to the 2010 Census, the residence population stood at 11,194,382, an increase of 605,100 (5.71%) from 2000. The male-female ratio was 101.94:100. Children aged up to 14 numbered 1,915,800 (17.11% of the population), citizens 15 to 64 numbered 8,370,600 (74.78%), and 65+ numbered 908,000 (8.11%). The urban area of Baoding made of 5 urban Districts had a population of around 2,739,887 (2010 census). The overwhelming majority of the population is Han Chinese. The language of Baoding is Mandarin Chinese — specifically, the Baoding dialect of Ji-Lu Mandarin. Despite Baoding's proximity to Beijing, the Chinese spoken in Baoding is not particularly close to the Beijing dialect — rather, it is more closely related to Tianjin dialect.
Economy
Baoding is located in the centre of the Bohai Rim economic area which includes Beijing, Tianjin, and Shijiazhuang. One of the largest employers in Baoding is China Lucky Film, the largest photosensitive materials and magnetic recording media manufacturer in China.
And, Yingli group, 2010 World Cup sponsor, has its headquarters in Baoding, who is the Global Top 10 solar panel manufacturer. More renowned companies include ZhongHang HuiTeng Windpower Equipment Co., Ltd (Wind Turbine), Baoding Tianwei Group Co., Ltd (Transformer), and Great Wall Motor.
In April 2017, an area in Baoding was designated as a Xiong'an New Area, a development zone of initially 100 km2 and up to 2000 km2, the site of what will eventually be a new city and the hub of the Beijing-Tinajin-Hebei development area.
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Baoding High-tech Industrial Development Zone
Great Wall Motors Company Limited is a Chinese automobile manufacturer headquartered in Baoding, Hebei, China. The company is named after the Great Wall of China and was formed in 1984. It is China's largest sport utility vehicle (SUV) and pick-up truck producer. It sells passenger cars and trucks under the Great Wall brand and SUVs under the Haval and WEY brands.
In 2016, Great Wall Motors set a historical sales record of 1,074,471 cars worldwide, increased by 26% compared to 2015.
Renewable energy
Baoding City has one of China's biggest plants which manufactures blades used in
wind turbine generators, catering mainly to the domestic market. Tianwei Wind Power Technology is one of the three main plants in Baoding that produces wind turbine generators. It wheeled out its first 20 turbines in 2008, and it will produce 150 units in 2009 and another 500 in 2010. Nevertheless, Baoding is currently listed as the most polluted city in China.
Transport
Baoding has good connections to other cities, being located on one of the main routes in and out of Beijing. The Jingshi Expressway connects the two cities, and Baoding is also the western terminus of the Baojin Expressway linking Baoding with
Tianjin, which is one out of two nearest ports (
Huanghua is the other one). The Jingguang Railway provides frequent services to Beijing West railway station. On 30 December 2012, a new Baoding station was opened, while the old train station was closed for passengers.
Baoding East railway station lies to the east on the Beijing–Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong high-speed railway. On October 1, 2018, the east square of Baoding Railway Station was officially put into use, and the east station building of the railway station was also opened at the same time.
Military
Baoding is headquarters of the 38th Mechanized Group Army of the People's Liberation Army, one of the three group armies that comprise the Beijing Military Region responsible for defending the PRC capital.
Culture
Perhaps the best-known item to supposedly originate in Baoding are
Baoding Balls, which can be used to relax one's keyboard hand and strengthen one's wrist.
The most famous local specialty food is the Donkey Burger
Anxin County is home to the Quantou Village Music Association (s=圈头村音乐会), a well known traditional music group performing on guan (oboes), sheng (mouth organs), and percussion. The village of Quantou is located on an island in Lake Baiyangdian.
Baoding is home to Hebei University, North China Electric Power University with other 3 universities and 12 colleges.
Historic sites
Baoding contains a number of notable historic sites. In the city proper, there can be found a historic provincial governor's mansion and an ancient
Nelumbo nucifera garden. In the hills to the northwest of the city, near the suburb of
Mancheng, there are the Mancheng Han Tombs, where Prince Liu Sheng and his wife
Dou Wan were buried.
The greater Baoding administrative area has 16 designated state-level cultural relics:
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Yan State Capital Relics (475BC-221BC, Yixian County)
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Great Wall at Zijinguan Pass (1368–1644, Yixian County and Laiyuan County)
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Stele of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching (618-907, Yixian County)
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Western Qing Tombs (1730–1915, Yixian County)
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Geyuan Temple (916-1125, Laiyuan County)
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Ciyun Pavilion (1306, Dingxing County)
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Yicihui Stone Pillar (550-577, Dingxing County)
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Kaiyuan Temple (960-1127, Dingzhou County)
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Kaishan Temple (618-907, Gaobeidian County)
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Dingzhou Porcelain Kiln Relic (960-1127, Quyang County)
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Beiyue Temple (386-543, Quyang County)
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Jin-cha-ji Border Region Headquarters Ruins (1938, Fuping County)
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Ranzhuang Underground Tunnel (1937–1945, Qingyuan County)
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Mancheng Han Tombs (154BC-113BC, Mancheng County)
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Zhili Provincial Governor Office (1730–1911, Baoding)
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Historical Site of the Baoding Military Academy (1902–1923)
Notable people
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Abbie Goodrich Chapin (1868-1956), American missionary teacher based in Baoding
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Chen Xu, Director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office
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Fan Hongbin—gymnast, Olympic silver medalist in 1996 Summer Olympics
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Fan Ye—gymnast, 2003 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships balance beam gold medalist
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Guo Jingjing—diver and Olympic gold medalist in 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics
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Qian Hong—swimmer and Olympic gold medalist in 1992 Summer Olympics
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Shi Changxu—materials scientist, recipient of the 2010 State Preeminent Science and Technology Award
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Tie Ning—author, president of the China Writers Association
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Wei Jianjun—billionaire, chairman of Great Wall Motors
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Yan Su—Chinese playwright and lyricist
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Xie Jun—chess grandmaster and Women's World Chess Champion 1991-1996, 1999-2001
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Zhang Shangwu-gymnast, 2001 Summer Universiade still rings gold medalist
Sister cities
Baoding is
Sister city with:
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, Charlotte, North Carolina, 1987-09-29
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, Yonago, Tottori, 1991-10-13
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, Saijō, Ehime, 1994-9-21
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, Hafnarfjörður, 1994-10-09
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, Kushima, Miyazaki, 2000-11-20
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, Dongdaemun District, Seoul, 2001-02-19
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, Gravenhurst, Ontario, 2002-12-5
-
, Santiago de Veraguas, 2006-12-15
-
, Sønderborg Municipality, 2012-04-23
Gallery
File:BaodingTemple.jpg|Temple in the centre of old Baoding
File:Baoding 001.jpg|Dongfeng Road, Baoding
File:BaodingYuhuaRoad.jpg|Part of Yuhua Road, the main street of old Baoding
File:BaodingArch.jpg|Arch on Yuhua Road, old Baoding
File:BaodingIntersection.jpg|An intersection in Yuhua Road's shopping district
File:Baoding 002.jpg|The Wanbo Tower in a sunny afternoon, Baoding CBD
File:BaodingMonument.jpg|A civic monument
File:BaodingPark.jpg|A public park
File:BaodingPark2.jpg|A public park
File:BaodingCathedral.jpg|Baoding Cathedral
File:Baoding 010.jpg|Baoding Railway Station
File:Baoding 011.jpg|Baoding East Railway Station for High-Speed Rail Trains
File:BaodingBuses.jpg|Baoding city buses before 2007
File:Evening Baoding.JPG|Baoding in the evening
File:Baoding Railway station.JPG|Old Baoding railway station
File:BaodingRailwayStation.jpg|Old Baoding railway station
File:Baoding old quarter.JPG|Baoding Old Quarter
File:Baoding 008.jpg|Skylines in Baoding CBD
File:Baoding 006.jpg|Closer look at the Wanbo Tower in a sunny day
File:Baoding 007.jpg|Closer look at the Maoye Tower in a sunny day, Baoding CBD
File:Baoding 003.jpg|The Wanbo Plaza at night, Baoding CBD
File:Baoding 005.jpg|The Wanbo Plaza at night, Baoding CBD
File:Baoding 009.jpg|The Wanbo Plaza at night, Baoding CBD
See also
-
List of twin towns and sister cities in China
External links
