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Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shandong on the east. At the 2010 census, its population was 9,174,683 inhabitants of whom 2,845,790 lived in the built-up ( or metro) area made of 5 urban districts.By the end of 2024, the total resident population of the city is 9,182,100, and the urbanization rate of the resident population is 62.10%. Yongnian District in Handan and Shahe City in Xingtai have largely formed into a single conurbation.
Handan is one of the oldest cities in China, first settled around 6500 BC by the Cishan culture. Throughout the city's long history, it contributed significantly to Chinese culture, serving as the capital of State of Zhao, was northern China's political, economic and cultural center, and home to Tai chi and the first compass, made from stones collected in the nearby Mount Ci (magnet mountain). Handan is designated as one of China's National Famous Historical and Cultural Cities.
A dictionary from the Tang dynasty explained that "Han" (links=no) is the name of a nearby mountain (Hanshan District), and "Dan" (links=no) meant "the terminus of a mountain" with an added radical (links=no) denoting a city. Together, "Handan" means "the city at the terminus of Mount Han". This explanation has been widely accepted until the discoveries of jade writings in Houma, Shanxi in 1965, where the "Dan" in Handan was spelt "", meaning red. This then lead to another explanation that Handan was named so because Mount Han appeared Red-violet in color.
The different spellings of the city's name consolidated into the modern spelling in Qin dynasty.
During the Warring States period (5th–3rd centuries BCE), Handan was an important city of the state of Zhao. In 386 BCE, Marquess Jing of Zhao officially relocated the capital to Handan and initiated large-scale construction. It was their second capital, after Zhongmu. It remained the capital for 158 years, until Zhao was conquered by the Qin. King Wuling of Zhao turned Zhao into one of the Qin state's most stalwart foes, pioneering the use of walls to secure new frontiers (which would inspire the eventual construction of the Great Wall of China). The city was conquered by the State of Qin after the virtual annexation of Zhao by Qin in 228 BCE, except for the Dai Commandery.
At the beginning of the Han dynasty, Handan was Liu Bang's base for suppressing Chen Xi's rebellion in 197 and 196 BCE. By the late Western Han period, Handan remained one of the five major cities in the country, covering an urban area of 13.6 square kilometers with a population of over 150,000. Its handicrafts, commerce, and iron smelting industries were highly developed. In the late Western Han, a peasant uprising erupted, and Wang Lang launched a rebellion in the Handan area in support of the peasant army. After Liu Xiu, the founding emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty, raised an army in Hebei, he captured Handan and downgraded it to Handan County, marking the first time the city was demoted from a capital to a county seat. This began Handan's decline. By the late Eastern Han period, Yuan Shao seized control of Hebei and established Ye, which gradually replaced Handan and rose to prominence. Note that Ye is still contained in Handan Prefecture nowadays, located in the current Linzhang County.
During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao established his base in Ye, marking the rise of Ye City. After the founding of the Cao Wei state, Ye became the northern capital of Wei, serving as the political center of northern China. The construction of the Wei capital was renowned for its symmetrical design along a central axis, and iconic structures such as the Bronze Bird Terrace.
In the late Western Jin period, northern China fell into chaos during the Upheaval of the Five Barbarians, and Handan was occupied by various non-Han ethnic groups, such as the Xianbei and Jie people, leaving the city in ruins.
During the Sixteen Kingdoms period, Ye City in Linzhang served successively as the capital for Later Zhao, Ran Wei, Former Yan, and later the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi during the Northern Dynasties, spanning a total of 364 years. In 580, the Northern Zhou general Yuchi Jiong, stationed in Ye, launched a rebellion against Yang Jian but was defeated, leading to the destruction of the ancient city of Ye by fire.
During the late Sui dynasty, Handan became the center of activities for Dou Jiande's rebel army in Hebei. Dou Jiande established Guangfu, which is in current Yongnian, Handan, as the capital of the short-lived Xia regime.
Under the Tang dynasty, Handan was incorporated into Mingzhou and Cizhou. Meanwhile, Weizhou in the region began to rise in prominence and was later renamed Daming Prefecture, which is the current Daming County in Handan. By 621, Daming had emerged as the central city north of the Yellow River.
During the An Lushan rebellion, Ye has been a base for An Qingxu. There was the famous Battle of Ye, after which An Qingxu was killed by Shi Siming.
In 923, Li Cunxu ascended the throne in Daming, proclaiming himself emperor and establishing the Later Tang dynasty, known historically as Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang.
During the Song dynasty, in response to the Liao dynasty invasion, Daming Prefecture was elevated to serve as the auxiliary capital to the main capital (present-day Kaifeng). At its peak, the city had a population of over one million, with a bustling trade that attracted merchants from as far as the Western Regions.
In the late Northern Song period, the Jurchen Jin dynasty invaded the Zhongyuan. In the Handan region, locals joined Wang Yan's "Bazijun" guerrilla force in the Taihang Mountains, resisting the Jin for decades until the southern campaign of Wanyan Liang. Due to the prolonged warfare, Handan fell into decline and was eventually submerged by flooding. The ruins of Song-era Handan remain preserved beneath four meters of Yellow River silt.
After the Jin dynasty fell to the Mongol Empire, Handan was incorporated into the Mongol realm. During the early Yuan dynasty, it was part of the capital region of Dadu (modern-day Beijing). However, in the later Yuan period, the area suffered from frequent flooding and locust plagues, leaving the population in hardship.
In 1368, with the establishment of the Ming dynasty, the Handan area was placed under the jurisdiction of Northern Zhili. It was governed by the prefectures of Guangping and Daming County. Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang implemented a resettlement policy, relocating impoverished families from Shanxi to Daming and Guangping, revitalizing the region after its decline during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
In the late Ming period, influenced by Li Zicheng, the people of Handan staged uprisings. In 1644, after the Qing army crossed the Great Wall and entered the Central Plains, local resistance, led by Zhang Zhibang, fought against the invaders but was brutally suppressed. Under the Qing, the administrative structure remained similar to that of the Ming, with the area still called Zhili. Daming Prefecture served as the seat of the Zhili Governor-General, while Handan County remained under Guangping Prefecture, which functioned as the political and economic center of southern Hebei and northern Henan during the Ming and Qing periods.
During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the former headquarters of the Eighth Route Army’s 129th Division, also known as the Liu Bocheng-Deng Xiaoping Army Headquarters, is located in She County, within Handan. Following Japan's defeat in 1945, Handan was designated a city and served as the seat of the Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu (晋冀鲁豫) Border Region Government. In October 1945, during the Chongqing Negotiations, the National Revolutionary Army advanced north along the railway, passing through Communist-controlled areas. Armed conflict broke out, leading to the Handan Campaign. By November, the Communist forces achieved a decisive victory, consolidating the North China Liberated Zone into a unified territory. In 1946, the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Bureau of the Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu region planned to launch a major official newspaper in Handan. Initially considered names included Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu Daily and Taihang Daily, but Mao Zedong suggested the title People's Daily. Although the inaugural issue was printed on May 15, 1946, in Xibaipo, the project originated in Handan, and the publication became known as the “Handan Edition of the People's Daily (人民日报邯郸版).”
On December 22, 1952, Handan was reestablished as a city and became a provincial city in 1954. In 1956, Fengfeng City was merged into Handan, followed by the incorporation of Handan County in 1983. In 1984, Handan was again designated a provincial city, and Wu'an (later Wu'an City) was annexed in 1986.
Handan maintained a reputation for its fine Cizhou ware well into the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). It was also the birthplace in the 19th century of Yang-style tai chi, one of Tai Chi's five major schools.
Though much of Handan's ancient history is no longer visible, it still has some attractions, deriving from the many Chengyu that the city inspired, such as the road into which Lin Xiangru, courier of the precious Heshibi, backed in order to let his nemesis Lian Po pass first, as well as the location in which Lian Po begged for Lin Xiangru's forgiveness. Modern-day Congtai Park is located on the site of the historical Zhao court. Next to Congtai Park is the legendary "Xuebu Bridge" (), or "Learning to Walk Bridge". Legend has it that a noble from the state of Yan heard of a particularly elegant manner of walking unique to Handan. Arriving in Handan, he spent weeks trying to master the Handan style of walking on a bridge, only to fail. In the process, however, he had forgotten how to walk normally and had to crawl back to Yan. This story inspired the Chinese expression, "to learn the walk of Handan" (, Hándān xué bù), which means learning something difficult too intensely, thereby forgetting the basics in the process.
The nearby Xiangtangshan Caves contain massive Buddha statues carved into the mountainside, some dating to the 6th century, many of which were severely damaged by invading Japanese forces during World War II. At that time, Handan was prized by the Japanese invaders for its coal reserves. Many parts of the Buddhist statues are now in museums arouns the world. For example, several parts are currently in Metropolitan Museum of Art, The San Diego Museum of Art, and Penn Museum. See for a complete list.
In 2007, Handan was the location of China's largest-ever bank robbery.
The municipal executive, legislative and judiciary are situated in Congtai District (丛台区, Cóngtái Qū), as well as the CPC and Public Security bureaux.
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| Congtai District | 丛台区 | Cóngtái Qū | 330,000 | 28 | 11,786 | |
| Hanshan District | 邯山区 | Hánshān Qū | 310,000 | 32 | 9,688 | |
| Fuxing District | 复兴区 | Fùxīng Qū | 250,000 | 37 | 6,757 | |
| Fengfeng Mining District | 峰峰矿区 | Fēngfēng Kuàngqū | 500,000 | 353 | 1,416 | |
| Feixiang District | 肥乡区 | Féixiāng Qū | 310,000 | 496 | 625 | |
| Yongnian District | 永年区 | Yǒngnián Qū | 860,000 | 898 | 958 | |
| Wu'an City | 武安市 | Wǔ'ān Shì | 720,000 | 1,806 | 399 | |
| (Defunct since 2016) | 邯郸县 | Hándān Xiàn | 400,000 | 522 | 766 | |
| Linzhang County | 临漳县 | Línzhāng Xiàn | 590,000 | 744 | 793 | |
| Cheng'an County | 成安县 | Chéng'ān Xiàn | 370,000 | 485 | 763 | |
| Daming County | 大名县 | Dàmíng Xiàn | 750,000 | 1,052 | 713 | |
| She County | 涉县 | Shè Xiàn | 390,000 | 1,509 | 258 | |
| Ci County | 磁县 | Cí Xiàn | 640,000 | 1,035 | 618 | |
| Qiu County | 邱县 | Qiū Xiàn | 200,000 | 448 | 446 | |
| Jize County | 鸡泽县 | Jīzé Xiàn | 250,000 | 337 | 742 | |
| Guangping County | 广平县 | Guǎngpíng Xiàn | 250,000 | 320 | 781 | |
| Guantao County | 馆陶县 | Guǎntáo Xiàn | 290,000 | 456 | 636 | |
| Wei County | 魏县 | Wèi Xiàn | 810,000 | 862 | 940 | |
| Quzhou County | 曲周县 | Qǔzhōu Xiàn | 410,000 | 667 | 615 | |
However the government has made a significant effort to make the city cleaner, which involved closing down many polluting power plants. It is no longer the most polluted city, and, according to a 2016 government survey, the number of good air quality days is 189 days, an increase of 135 days compared with 2013.
In 2013, there were more than 150,000 Catholics in Handan according to the Catholic Church, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Yongnian. Mother of Grace Cathedral in Daming County was built in 1918. The most recent church was built in 2007.
There are also 300,000 Protestants. The largest Protestant church is on Qianjin Avenue (s=邯郸市西堂) and was built in 1997. The oldest church was on Congtai Street and was built in 1920. The church was destroyed in 2009 by the local government. A new church was built in 2011.
According to the local government 30,000 Hui Muslims live in the prefecture of Handan.
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