Xuanhua, Zhangjiakou

Xuanhua
宣化区
Suanhwa; Süanhwa
Qingyuan Tower (Bell Tower)
Qingyuan Tower (Bell Tower)
Location of Zhangjiakou in Hebei
Location of Zhangjiakou in Hebei
CountryPeople's Republic of China
ProvinceHebei
Prefecture-level cityZhangjiakou
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard)
Websitewww.zjkxuanhua.gov.cn
Xuanhua
Chinese宣化
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXuānhuà
Wade–GilesHsüan-hua

Xuanhua is an urban district of Zhangjiakou in northwestern Hebei Province, China.

Xuanhua is a very old city with a rich military and agricultural history. Xuanhua was historically the "Gateway to Beijing", which lies 180 km (112 mi) to its southeast. As a city with a large garrison close to the capital, it was strategically vital. It now has a population of 274,000 people. In modern times it has also become an industrial area, and now contains a high-tech development zone where new developments are being promoted by the government of Hebei Province.

History

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Xuanhua Railway Station, 1905

The remains of the Kingdom of Yan era city of Zaoyang (造陽) can be located in the northeast of Xuanhua District.

Xuanhua is home to a Liao (10th-12th c.) tomb with a colored star atlas painted with 268 stars including the sun, the moon, and the five planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

In the late 14th century, prior to his elevation to emperor of the Ming Empire, Zhu Di ruled his principality of Yan from Xuanhua. Under the Qing, it continued to serve as the seat of a prefecture and was known to the Jesuit missionaries as "Suen-hao-fou".[1]

In January 2016, the former rural Xuanhua County surrounding the urban Xuanhua merged with the urban Xuanhua District to established Greater Xuanhua District with both rural and urban area combined.

Military

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Xuanhua was the garrison headquarters for the soldiers on the Xuanda-Shanxi Military Area, one of the three military governorships of the Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty. It commanded Xuanfu Zhen, Datong Zhen, and Shanxi Zhen along the Great Wall.

Xuanhua has a set of city walls built in the Ming Dynasty which are still partly intact.

Agriculture

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Known in ancient times as "The Grape Town," Xuanhua farmers grow a wide variety of grapes. Some grapes are used for wine production, but much of the crop is sold as fruit. In autumn, a large number of farmers sell grapes on streetsides out of hand-carts or trucks.

Bailin Temple, Xuanhua

Industry

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Xuanhua contains

and other mineral resources.

Its key industries are

  • metallurgy
  • machinery manufacturing
  • chemical production
  • electrical power generation
  • papermaking
  • woolskin tanning

and

  • brewing - the locally produced beer is "Zhōnglóu Píjiǔ" (钟楼啤酒) or Bell-tower Beer.

Administrative divisions

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Subdistricts:[2]

Towns:

Townships:

Climate

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Climate data for Xuanhua, elevation 629 m (2,064 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 9.8
(49.6)
17.9
(64.2)
26.5
(79.7)
34.1
(93.4)
37.8
(100.0)
39.0
(102.2)
41.2
(106.2)
36.5
(97.7)
36.1
(97.0)
29.2
(84.6)
20.0
(68.0)
14.9
(58.8)
41.2
(106.2)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −1.9
(28.6)
3.0
(37.4)
10.4
(50.7)
19.1
(66.4)
25.7
(78.3)
29.2
(84.6)
29.8
(85.6)
28.7
(83.7)
24.2
(75.6)
16.6
(61.9)
6.8
(44.2)
−0.5
(31.1)
15.9
(60.7)
Daily mean °C (°F) −9.6
(14.7)
−5.1
(22.8)
2.6
(36.7)
11.1
(52.0)
18.1
(64.6)
22.0
(71.6)
23.5
(74.3)
21.8
(71.2)
16.2
(61.2)
8.7
(47.7)
−0.6
(30.9)
−7.9
(17.8)
8.4
(47.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −15.5
(4.1)
−11.4
(11.5)
−4.2
(24.4)
3.3
(37.9)
10.3
(50.5)
15.1
(59.2)
17.8
(64.0)
16.0
(60.8)
9.5
(49.1)
2.0
(35.6)
−6.2
(20.8)
−13.3
(8.1)
2.0
(35.5)
Record low °C (°F) −28.2
(−18.8)
−25.1
(−13.2)
−23.7
(−10.7)
−9.0
(15.8)
−2.4
(27.7)
5.4
(41.7)
8.0
(46.4)
6.6
(43.9)
−1.6
(29.1)
−11.1
(12.0)
−20.9
(−5.6)
−24.6
(−12.3)
−28.2
(−18.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 1.4
(0.06)
2.5
(0.10)
7.7
(0.30)
16.9
(0.67)
32.9
(1.30)
67.3
(2.65)
91.9
(3.62)
68.8
(2.71)
56.3
(2.22)
23.0
(0.91)
8.3
(0.33)
1.7
(0.07)
378.7
(14.94)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 1.6 2.3 3.6 4.9 7.5 10.8 12.5 10.4 8.9 5.4 2.9 1.9 72.7
Average snowy days 2.6 3.1 2.7 0.8 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 2.6 2.4 14.4
Average relative humidity (%) 49 43 41 38 41 55 71 73 68 59 55 51 54
Mean monthly sunshine hours 194.7 199.3 239.3 256.5 281.1 260.8 249.3 250.9 231.5 221.3 187.9 181.1 2,753.7
Percent possible sunshine 65 66 64 64 63 58 55 60 63 65 64 63 63
Source: China Meteorological Administration[3][4]

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Du Halde, Description of China, Vol. I, p. 140.
  2. ^ 张家口市-行政区划网
  3. ^ 中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  4. ^ 中国气象数据网 (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 25 August 2023.

Bibliography

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40°035′N 115°02′E / 40.583°N 115.033°E / 40.583; 115.033