In previous articles, the author talked to you about the changes in district divisions of various prefecture-level cities in Shanxi Province, such as Taiyuan City, Yuncheng , etc. Today, let’s talk about Datong City . Datong City is one of the 11 prefecture-level cities in Shanxi Province and is also the second largest city in Shanxi Province. The geographical location of Datong City is very important. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. Datong City has a total of 10 districts and counties under its jurisdiction. So, how did the zoning of the 10 districts and counties in Datong City be formed? Today, let’s talk about this issue.
First of all, let’s talk about the specific situation in Shanxi Province. Shanxi Province is one of the six provinces in central my country and is also a province in North my country. According to the data statistics from Qipu in 2020, the total population of Shanxi Province is more than 34.9 million. In 2021, the total amount of GDP in Shanxi Province reached 2.25 trillion. In recent years, with the completion of the economic and industrial transformation of Shanxi Province and the improvement of road traffic, Shanxi Province has developed very rapidly. Especially the provincial capital Taiyuan City, there have been great changes.
Shanxi Province has 11 prefecture-level cities under its jurisdiction, namely: Taiyuan City, Datong City, Yangquan City , Changzhi City, Jincheng City , Shuozhou City , Jinzhong City , Yuncheng City, Xinzhou City , Linfen City , Luliang City . Among them, Datong City is the second largest city in Shanxi Province. Datong City is a hub city in northern Shanxi Province, connecting the throat ducts that cross Shanxi, Hebei and Inner Mongolia. According to the data from Qipu statistics in 2020, Datong City has a total population of more than 3.1 million. In 2021, Datong City's total GDP reached more than 168 billion.
Datong City has 4 districts and 6 counties under its jurisdiction, with a total of 10 districts and counties, namely: Pingcheng District , Yungang District , Yunzhou District , Xinrong District , Tianzhen County , Yanggao County , Guangling County , Lingqiu County , Hunyuan County , and Zuoyun County. As for the changes in Datong City's zoning, it has undergone several stages of changes. The terrain structure outside Datong City is complex, and can be called "the barrier of the entire Jin Dynasty and the gateway to the north." Since ancient times, it has been a place that military strategists must fight for, and is called the "Northern Key." Therefore, all Central Plains dynasties have stationed a large number of troops in Datong .
In ancient history, Datong was once the capital of the Northern Wei regime and the Liao Kingdom . In 1279, after the northern Yuan Dynasty gradually unified the country, the territory was unprecedentedly large. Relying on the two-level divisions of prefectures and counties in the Tang and Song dynasties, each region cannot be effectively managed. Under such circumstances, the Yuan Dynasty drew on the experience of the Jin Dynasty's streets and established a provincial system, which divided the country into 10 provinces, such as Liaoyang Province, , Henan Jiangbei Province, Huguang Province, etc.
At that time, in view of the importance of Shanxi, the Yuan Dynasty included Shanxi into the direct management of the Zhongshu Province. After all, Shanxi's geographical location and terrain structure are unique, and it can be regarded as a natural barrier for the Central Plains dynasty to resist the northern nomadic cavalry. Shanxi's terrain is very complex, which is conducive to layered defense and preventing the northern nomadic cavalry from moving south. In 1368, after the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, the provincial system of the Yuan Dynasty was inherited and improved and adjusted. Because the Ming Dynasty had two capitals in the north and south, the zoning pattern of Zhili and 13 provinces was gradually formed.
During the Ming Dynasty, the zoning outlines of several provinces such as Shanxi Province, Henan Province, and Shandong Province had basically been formed. After the Yuan Dynasty retreated to the northern grasslands, it continued to confront the Ming Dynasty and repeatedly organized forces to move southward. In order to defend against the nomadic cavalry going south, the Ming Dynasty formed the Jiubian important town from the northeast to the northwest. Among them, Datong Town is one of them. In the mid-17th century, the Qing Dynasty eliminated the peasant uprising forces in various places and various regimes in the Southern Ming Dynasty, and gradually established the rule of the country.
adjusted the zoning of each province according to its own needs, forming a zoning pattern of 18 provinces.During the Qing Dynasty, Shanxi Province was divided into 9 prefectures and 10 Zhili Prefectures , namely: Taiyuan Prefecture , Pingyang Prefecture , Lu'an Prefecture , Fenzhou Prefecture , Datong Prefecture , Shuoping Prefecture , Ningwu Prefecture, Zezhou Prefecture, Puzhou Prefecture , Liaozhou, Qinzhou, Pingdingzhou, Xinzhou , Dianzhou , Baodezhou, Jiezhou, Jiangzhou, Jizhou, and Xizhou. The reason why there are so many prefectures under its jurisdiction is mainly because of the complex terrain structure of Shanxi.
At that time, Datong Prefecture had Hunyuan Prefecture , Yingzhou, Datong County , Huairen County, Shanyin County , Yanggao County, Tianzhen County, Guangling County, Lingqiu County and other places. As for Shuoping Prefecture, it has Youyu County, , Zuoyun County, Pinglu County, Shuozhou , Mayi County and other places. In 1912, after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, our country entered a warlord melee. Due to the serious warlord melee, it has caused great damage to the economy of various places, and all parts of northern my country urgently need to rest and recuperate.
1928, for management needs, the then regime formed Chahar Province . Datong in northern Shanxi Province is included in the management of Chahar Province. In a blink of an eye, it was the early stage of the founding of the People's Republic of China. With the end of the large-scale war, our country entered the stage of post-war reconstruction, restoration of production, and development and construction. In 1952, after Chahar Province was abolished, Datong and other places were re-registered into Shanxi Province's management. At this time, Shanxi Province established Yanbei District , and Datong City was promoted to a prefecture-level city, and Datong City and Yanbei District were formed.
Datong City has 3 districts and 1 mining area under its jurisdiction, and its jurisdiction is not very large. Yanbei Special District has 13 counties under its jurisdiction, namely: Datong County, Yanggao County, Tianzhen County, Guangling County, Lingqiu County, Hunyuan County, Ying County , Huairen County, Shanyin County, Shuo County, Pinglu County, Youyu County, and Zuoyun County. In 1954, Datong County and Huairen County merged, and Yanbei District had 12 counties under its jurisdiction. This zoning pattern continued until 1958, when Yanbei District and Xinxian District were abolished and the Jinbei District was merged to form the Jinbei District.
Jinbei District has 29 counties under its jurisdiction and has a very large management scope. At the same time, Datong City was demoted and transferred to the management of the North Shanxi District. According to the transportation and communication conditions in the 1950s and 1960s, it was very difficult to manage nearly 30 counties. In 1961, the Jinbei Special Zone was abolished and Yanbei Special Zone and Xinxian Special Zone were reorganized. In November 1961, Datong City was upgraded to a prefecture-level city. In 1964, Yanbei Special District reorganized Datong County and Huairen County, basically restoring the original zoning pattern.
html In the late 1960s, after all the special zones across the country were renamed to regional areas, Yanbei District was renamed to Yanbei District . In 1970, Datong City was demoted again and was transferred to Yanbei District Management. However, this period is very short. In 1972, Datong City was promoted to a prefecture-level city for the second time, and it was established alongside Yanbei region. In the late 1970s, my country's economy began to continue to develop rapidly. In order to adapt to the development of the times, many regions under the jurisdiction of various provinces in my country have begun to be adjusted to prefecture-level cities one after another.
In January 1989, Shuozhou prefecture-level cities were established, and Pinglu County, Shuo County and Shanyin County under the Yanbei region were included in the management of Shuozhou City. After entering the 1990s, with the development of the economy, many regions began to abolish one after another. In 1993, the Yanbei region was abolished, and Huairen County, Ying County and Youyu County, which were originally under the jurisdiction, were included in the management of Shuozhou City. Seven counties including Tianzhen County, Yanggao County, Guangling County, Lingqiu County, Hunyuan County, Zuoyun County, and Datong County are included in the management of Datong City.
At this time, Datong City also had 4 districts under its jurisdiction, namely: urban area, mining area, southern suburbs , and Xinrong District, forming a zoning pattern of 4 districts and 7 counties. After entering the 21st century, Datong City's urban area has become larger and larger, and the urban population has become more and more numerous. In 2018, the urban area, southern suburbs and mining areas of Datong City were abolished, and Pingcheng District and Yungang District were merged to form. A few months later, Datong County was abolished and Yunzhou District was formed. As of this time, the zoning pattern of 4 districts and 6 counties in Datong City has been completely formed.
are: Pingcheng District, Yungang District, Yunzhou District, Xinrong District, Tianzhen County, Yanggao County, Guangling County, Lingqiu County, Hunyuan County, and Zuoyun County.Of course, in order to develop the economy, Datong City has also established several functional new areas such as high-tech zones in recent years. However, the situation in these new areas is special and generally not included.
There are many more stories about the adjustment of various regions in my country. The author will chat with you slowly in future articles.
