Zhangjiakou
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Zhangjiakou (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: }}}; pinyin: ; Mongolian: Чуулалт Хаалга [Čuulalt Haalga] Classical Mongolian: Qaɣalɣan) is a city in Hebei Province, China. It was formerly known as Kalgan, from Mongolian хаалга (haalga; Classical Mongolian: qaɣalɣa) meaning "gate" (i.e., in the Great Wall).
Introduction
Zhangjiakou has a population of 4.3 million, and covers 36,947 square kilometers. It lies to the northwest of the province and is linked from Datong in Shanxi by the Xuanda Expressway and from Beijing by means of the Jingzhang Expressway. Zhangjiakou is further linked to a freeway to inner Mongolia which opened on September 7, 2005.Zhangjiakou's main economic lifeline is energy.
The entire jurisdiction of Zhangjiakou City extends beyond just central Zhangjiakou (divided into Qiaoxi District and Qiaodong District), but extends also into other outlying areas such as Yangyuan, Xuanhua and even Huailai, which is less than 20 kilometers away from Beijing.
Modern History
In the early 1960s at the height of Sino-Soviet tensions, Zhangjiakou was considered one of the most important cities in China for military strategy reasons. Zhangjiakou was aptly nicknamed, "Beijing's Northern Door," because whomever controlled Zhangjiakou was in a good position to either attack (in the case of the Soviets) or defend (in the case of the Chinese) Beijing.Zhangjiakou in fiction
- In the novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes, the two main characters, Guo Jing and Huang Rong are first met in this city.
- Zhangjiakou was the setting for Zhang Yimou's film Not One Less (1999).
Prefecture-level divisions of Hebei
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| List of Hebei County-level divisions |
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