Lantian County () is a county under the administration of

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...

, the capital of

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...

province, China. It is the easternmost and second-most spacious (after

Zhouzhi County Zhouzhi County () is a county under the administration of Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi province, China. It is the most spacious but least densely populated county-level division of Xi'an, and also contains the city's southernmost and westernmost ...

) of the 13

county-level division The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since ancient times, due to China's large population and geographical area. The constitution of China provides for three levels of government. However in practice, there a ...

s of Xi'an. The county borders the

prefecture-level cities A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. During the Republican era, many of China' ...

Weinan Weinan () is a prefecture-level city in the east central Shaanxi province, China. The city lies on the lower section of the Wei River confluence into the Yellow River, about east of the provincial capital Xi'an, and borders the provinces of Shan ...

to the northeast and

Shangluo Shangluo () is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China, bordering Henan to the northeast and Hubei to the southeast. Part of the Shannan region of the province, it is located in the eastern part of the ...

to the southeast,

Lintong District Lintong District (), formerly Lintong County, is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, Northwest China. The district was approved to establish from the former ''Lintong County'' () by th ...

to the north, Chang'an District to the west, and

Baqiao District Baqiao District () is one of 11 districts of the prefecture-level city of Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, Northwest China. The district borders Gaoling District to the north, Lintong District to the northeast, Chang'an District to the sou ...

to the northwest.

Toponymy

Lantian County was first founded in 379 BCE, and was named after the nearby Lantian Mountain (), located to the southeast of the current county seat.

History

Lantian County was first established in 379 BCE, in present-day , west of its current seat. The county was named for the nearby Lantian Mountain (). Numerous ancient Chinese texts, such as the ''

Taiping Huanyu Ji The ''Taiping Huanyu Ji'' (), or "Universal Geography of the Taiping Era 76-983" is a 10th-century AD geographical treatise by Chinese scholar Yue Shi 樂史 (930-1007), written during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Song in the Northern Song Dy ...

'' and the '' Rites of Zhou'' state that the mountain was renown for its

jade Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...

. From 446 CE to 487 CE, under the

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into the ...

-led

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties ...

, Lantian County was merged into Bacheng County (). Upon its restoration, it was placed under the jurisdiction of

Jingzhao Commandery Jingzhao ( zh, 京兆) was a historical region centered on the ancient Chinese capital of Chang'an. Han dynasty In early Han dynasty, the governor of the capital Chang'an and its vicinities was known as ''You Neishi'' (), and the region was also ...

(). From 557 CE to 573 CE, under the Xianbei-led

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty and ...

, Lantian County was promoted and reorganized as . During this period, Lantian County was abolished, and Lantian Commandery administered two counties formed in its place: Yushan County () and Bailu County (). Upon the restoration of Lantian County in 573 CE, the county's seat of government was moved to the ancient city of Yaoliu (), located in present-day . In 619 CE, during the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

, Bailu County was restored. Yushan County was also re-established the same year, with its seat of government in present-day . The following year Bailu County was renamed to Ningmin County (). Both counties were abolished again in 629 CE, and merged back into Lantian County, which was now under the jurisdiction of Jingzhao Fu (). During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Lantian County was under the jurisdiction of (). In 1913, following the establishment of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

, the county was placed under the jurisdiction of . Beginning in 1928, the county was under direct administration from the province of

. Following the establishment of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in 1949, the county was placed under the administration of (). The following year, Weinan District was re-organized as Weinan Prefecture (). From 1956 to 1958, the county was directed administered by Shaanxi. In 1958, it was placed under the jurisdiction of

. From 1961 to 1983, Lantian County was returned to Weinan Prefecture. Weinan Prefecture. In 1983, Lantian County was once again placed under Xi'an, which it remains today. In 2011, the county's 12

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

were reorganized as

towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

. On February 13, 2015, three of the county's towns were merged into other towns, and the town of Languan was reorganized as the county's sole

subdistrict A subdistrict or sub-district is an administrative division that is generally smaller than a district. Equivalents * Administrative posts of East Timor, formerly Portuguese-language * Kelurahan, in Indonesia * Mukim, a township in Brunei, In ...

Administrative divisions

Lantian County is divided into 1

() and 18

(). These

township-level divisions The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since ancient times, due to China's large population and geographical area. The constitution of China provides for three levels of government. However in practice, there a ...

then in turn govern 9 residential communities () and 337 administrative villages ().

Subdistricts

The county's sole subdistrict is ().

Towns

The county's 18 towns are as follows: * (/) * () * () * () * () * () * () * () * () * () * () * () * () * () * () * () * () * ()

Former administrative divisions

* (, merged into Wangchuan in 2015) * (, merged into Sanguanmiao in 2015) * (, merged into Tangyu in 2015) * Languan (, upgraded to Languan Subdistrict in 2015)

Demographics

A 2012 estimate put the county's permanent population at 518,800. Per the 2010 Chinese Census, Lantian County's population totaled 514,026, down from the 560,283 recorded in the 2000 Chinese Census. Lantian County comprised 6.07% of Xi'an's population in 2010, down from 7.70% in 2000. A 1996 estimate put the county's population at about 605,000.

Climate

Transport

China National Highway 312 China National Highway 312 (312国道), also referred to as Route 312 or The Mother Road, is a key east-west route beginning in Shanghai and ending at Khorgas, Xinjiang in the Ili River valley, on the border with Kazakhstan. In total it spans , pa ...

References

External links

County-level divisions of Shaanxi Geography of Xi'an {{Shaanxi-geo-stub