Qian'an () is a

county-level city A county-level city () is a County-level divisions of China, county-level administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China. County-level cities have judiciary, judicial but no legislature, legislative rights over their own local or ...

in the northeast of

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

province,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. It is under the administration of the

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

of Tangshan. The city spans an area of , and has a population of 775,813 as of 2021.

Toponymy

The area of present-day Qian'an had historically been part of Anxi County () during the Liao and the Jin dynasties. In 1167, during the Jin dynasty, the area was renamed to Qian'an County (), whose name literally means "moved from Anxi".

History

The area of present-day Qian'an has hosted human activity since the

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

and

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

ages. The area had belonged to the state of Guzhu during the time period corresponding to the Shang and Zhou dynasties. During the Spring and Autumn period, the area was part of (), a Shanrong state. In 664 BCE, Lingqi and Guzhu were invaded by the state of Qi, led by Duke Huan of Qi and Guan Zhong. After the military success of Qi, the area of present-day Qian'an was absorbed into the state of Yan. The area remained part of Yan throughout the

Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

. During the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...

, in 221 BCE, the area was organized as Lizhi County (), and was placed under the jurisdiction of Liaoxi Commandery. The area was reorganized as Linzhi County () during the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

, but remained under the jurisdiction of Liaoxi Commandery. The area belonged to the Xianbei state during the early Jin dynasty. In 285 CE,

Emperor Wu of Jin Emperor Wu of Jin (; 236 – 16 May 290), personal name Sima Yan (), courtesy name Anshi (安世), was a grandson of Sima Yi, nephew of Sima Shi and son of Sima Zhao. He became the first emperor of the Jin dynasty (266–420), Jin dynasty a ...

successfully led an army against

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. The Xianbei were likely not of a single ethnicity, but rather a multiling ...

chief Murong Hui to conquer Feiru (), an area corresponding to the northeastern portion of present-day Qian'an. In 446 CE, during the

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei ( zh, c=北魏, p=Běi Wèi), Tuoba Wei ( zh, c=拓跋魏, p=Tuòbá Wèi), Yuan Wei ( zh, c=元魏, p=Yuán Wèi) and Later Wei ( zh, t=後魏, p=Hòu Wèi), was an Dynasties of China, impe ...

, Lingzhi was merged into (). During the Northern Qi, the area was reorganized into (). The area was reorganized numerous times during the

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

. In 586 CE, Feiru County was merged into Xinchang County (). In 598 CE, Xinchang County was renamed to Lulong County (), which was under the jurisdiction of Beiping Commandery. The area was put under the jurisdiction of Anxi County () during the Liao dynasty. In 1167, during the Jin dynasty, Anxi County was renamed to Qian'an County (). In the 13th century, Qian'an County was briefly abolished, and merged into Lulong County, although this was quickly undone. During the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

, Qian'an County belonged to Yongping Prefecture (), within North Zhili province. During the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

, Qian'an County and Yongping Prefecture belonged to Zhili province. In 1912, Qian'an County was placed under (), part of Zhili province. Jinhai Circuit was briefly reorganized as Bohai Circuit () in 1913, although this was promptly undone in 1914. In 1928, Zhili province was reorganized as

province. Upon its liberation from

Imperial Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

in 1945, Qian'an County was placed under the 16th Jidong Prefecture (). On August 1, 1949, Qian'an County was placed under the

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

of Tangshan. On December 20, 1958, Lulong County and Qianxi County were abolished and merged into Qian'an County. This change was reverted on July 9, 1961. On October 10, 1996, the provincial government of Hebei legislated the reorganization of Qian'an County as the

of Qian'an, which it remains today. On October 24, Qian'an was placed under the jurisdiction of the

of Tangshan. Qian'an was formally reorganized as a county-level city on November 26.

Administrative divisions

Qian'an administers 4 subdistricts and 17 towns.

Subdistricts

The city's 4 subdistricts are (), (), (), and ().

Towns

The city's 17 towns are (), (), (), (), (), (), (), (), (), (), (), (), (), (), (), (), and .

Geography

Qian'an is located in the northeast of the

of Tangshan, itself located within the northeastern portion of

province. Qian'an is bordered by Lulong County, across the to the east, Qianxi County to the west, Luanzhou to the south, and Qinglong Manchu Autonomous County to the north. Located at the southern foot of the Yan Mountains, Qian'an's elevation is generally higher in the northwest, and lower in the southeast. The highest point in Qian'an is Mount Dazuizi (), located in the north of the city, which reaches an elevation of . Major rivers in Qian'an include the Luan River, the Qinglong River, and the .

Climate

Demographics

As of 2021, Qian'an has a population of 775,813, residing in 231,147 households, giving it an average household size of 3.36. Per the 2010 Chinese Census, Qian'an had a population of 728,160, up from the 632,704 recorded in the 2000 Chinese Census. A 1996 estimate put the city's population at approximately 641,000. The city has an urban population of 319,384 (41.17% of its total population), with the remaining 456,429 people (58.83%) living in

rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

s. As of 2021, Qian'an has a

per capita ''Per capita'' is a Latin phrase literally meaning "by heads" or "for each head", and idiomatically used to mean "per person". Social statistics The term is used in a wide variety of social science, social sciences and statistical research conte ...

disposable income of 48,373

renminbi The renminbi ( ; currency symbol, symbol: Yen and yuan sign, ¥; ISO 4217, ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB), also known as the Chinese yuan, is the official currency of the China, People's Republic of China. The renminbi is issued by the Peop ...

(RMB) among urban residents, and 29,998 RMB among rural residents.

Ethnic groups

As of 2021, 35 different ethnic groups live in Qian'an. 95.99% of the city's population is ethnically

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

, with the remaining 4.01% belonging to ethnic minorities. The largest such minority is the Manchu people, which, as of 2021 number 21,466 (2.77% of its total population). Other sizeable minority groups within Qian'an include the Hui, which number 6,466 (0.83%), and the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

, which number 1,157 (0.15%). Qian'an hosts 12 designated ethnic villages, of which, 10 are Hui ethnic villages, and 2 are Manchu ethnic villages.

Economy

Qian'an recorded a

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...

(GDP) of 116.03 billion

(RMB) in 2021, a 6.7% increase from 2020. Of this, 3.29 billion RMB (2.84% of its total GDP) came from the city's primary sector, 77.91 billion RMB (67.15%) came from its secondary sector, and 34.83 billion RMB (30.02%) came from its tertiary sector. Major mineral resources within Qian'an include iron ore,

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

feldspar Feldspar ( ; sometimes spelled felspar) is a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagiocl ...

, flint,

graphite Graphite () is a Crystallinity, crystalline allotrope (form) of the element carbon. It consists of many stacked Layered materials, layers of graphene, typically in excess of hundreds of layers. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable ...

, kaolinte, and

bentonite Bentonite ( ) is an Absorption (chemistry), absorbent swelling clay consisting mostly of montmorillonite (a type of smectite) which can either be Na-montmorillonite or Ca-montmorillonite. Na-montmorillonite has a considerably greater swelli ...

. In 2021, Qian'an recorded 26.67 billion RMB in foreign trade.

Agriculture

Major crops grown in Qian'an include

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

, sweet potato,

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source o ...

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

, muskmelon, watermelon, '' Brassica rapa'', cucumber,

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to Central Asia, Central and Western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common vegetable consumed eit ...

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

es, green peppers, zucchini, radishes, onions, garlic, beans, and mushrooms. In 2021, of land within Qian'an were devoted to sowing maize, and the city yielded 171,000

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

s of maize; were used for growing peanuts, and the city yielded of peanuts; of land were used for growing wheat, and the city yielded 4,500 tonnes of wheat. In 2021, of land were used for growing sweet potatoes, and the city yielded 38,200 tonnes of sweet potatoes.

Industry

Major industries in Qian'an include iron mining and iron powder production, pig iron production,

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

production, coke production, cement production, plate glass production, and the production of

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

and cardboard.

Notable people

* Gongsun Zan, general and warlord * Han Dang, general

References

External links

{{Authority control County-level cities in Hebei Tangshan National Civilized City