She County (), or Shexian, is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

of southwestern Hebei 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 ...

, located on the lower reaches of the Zhang River and bordering

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

to the west and

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

to the south. It is under the administration of the Handan City, with a population of 400,000 residing in an area of .

History

The present area was originally part of Jizhou, one of the

Nine Provinces The term Nine Provinces or Nine Regions (), is used in ancient Chinese histories to refer to territorial divisions or islands during the Xia dynasty, Xia and Shang dynasty, Shang dynasties and has now come to symbolically represent China. "Pro ...

. During the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period () was a period in History of China, Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou (256 BCE), characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject t ...

it was part of the state of Jin, and during 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 ...

became part of the states of Wei and Zhao successively. Later, 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 ...

, it was part of Handan Commandery (). In 206 BCE, it was officially established as a county, but instead named as Sha County (), but not long after, was renamed to its present name. In the early part of the

Eastern Han 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 ...

, it was renamed State of Shehou (), part of the Wei Commandery (). The

Jin dynasty (266–420) The Jin dynasty or Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the or the , was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty in China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan, eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had previou ...

saw the area as part of Guangping Commandery (). The present name was restored again 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 ...

, becoming part of Shangdang Commandery. However, in the early Tang, it was renamed Mo County (). In the Southern Song, it was controlled by the

Jin dynasty (1115–1234) The Jin dynasty (, ), officially known as the Great Jin (), was a Jurchen people, Jurchen-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and empire ruled by the Wanyan clan that existed between 1115 and 1234. It is also often called the ...

and renamed Chongzhou (). The county's name was restored for the last time 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 ...

, though it was temporarily part of

, and it was not until 1949, with the establishment of the People's Republic, that She County was returned to Hebei.

Administrative divisions

The county administers 9 towns and 8 townships.

Geography

She County is located in the east of the

Taihang Mountains The Taihang Mountains () are a Chinese mountain range running down the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau in Shanxi, Henan and Hebei provinces. The range extends over from north to south and has an average elevation of ; its principal peak is ...

, bordering

Ci County Ci County or Cixian () is a county of Hebei, China. It is under the administration of Handan City. Administrative Divisions Towns: * Cizhou (), Xiguanglu (), Gaoyu (), Yuecheng (), Guantai (), Lintan (), Huangsha (), Baitu (), Jiangwucheng ...

and

Wu'an Wu'an is a county-level city in the southwest of Hebei, Hebei Province, China, bordering Shanxi, Shanxi Province to the west. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Handan. History People's Republic In August 1949, Wu'an ...

to the east,

Anyang Anyang ( zh, s=安阳, t=安陽; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan, China. Geographical coordinates are 35° 41'~ 36° 21' north latitude and 113° 38'~ 114° 59' east longitude. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the eas ...

and Linzhou of

to the south across the Zhang River,

Pingshun County Pingshun County () is a county in the southeast of Shanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Hebei to the northeast and Henan to the east. It is under the administration of Changzhi Changzhi ( zh, s=长治) is a prefecture-level cit ...

to the west, and Zuoquan County (Shanxi) to the north. It ranges in latitude from 36° 17' to 36° 55' N, spanning a length of , and in longitude from 113° 26' to 114° E, a width of , and has a total area of . The Zhang River, and its tributaries, is the primary river in the county, and eventually flows into the

Hai River The Hai River (海河, lit. "Sea River"), also known as the Peiho, ("White River"), or Hai Ho, is a Chinese river connecting Beijing to Tianjin and the Bohai Sea. During the Song dynasty, the main stream of the Hai River was called the lowe ...

Climate

Transport

The location of She County at the intersection of the Handan–Changzhi and Beijing–Guangzhou Railways, and location along G22 Qingdao–Lanzhou Expressway and

China National Highway 309 China National Highway 309 (G309) runs west from Rongcheng, Shandong, Rongcheng, Shandong towards Hebei Province, Shanxi Province, Shaanxi Province, Ningxia Autonomous Region, and ends in Lanzhou, Gansu. It is 2208 kilometres in length. Route an ...

makes it an important transport hub for Hebei province.

References

{{authority control County-level divisions of Hebei Handan