Clockwise from top: Skyline of Baoding, Great Wall on Mount Baishi, Lotus Pool, Zhili Governor's Office, Xiong'an New Area, St. Peter and St. Paul Cathedral
Baoding is a prefecture-level city in central Hebei province, approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) southwest of Beijing. As of the 2010 census, Baoding City had 11,194,382 inhabitants, of which 2,176,857 lived in the metropolitan area made of 4 out of 5 urban districts: Lianchi, Jingxiu, Qingyuan, and Mancheng all of which are largely conurbated.[1] Baoding is among 13 Chinese cities with a population of over 10 million, ranking seventh.[5] Zhuozhou City in the northern part has now grown into part of the Beijing metro area.[citation needed]
The city's name, Baoding (Chinese: 保定),[7][8] dates back to the Song and Yuan dynasties, the name is roughly interpreted as "protecting the capital", referring to the city's proximity to Beijing.
During the Warring States period, what is now Baoding was along the dividing line between the Yan and Zhao states.
One of the capitals of Yan during this period, Xiadu, is located in what is now Yi County, and from 400 to 300 BC may have been the largest cities in the world, with an estimated population of over 300,000. [10]
Imperial era
In 960 the Song dynasty established the Baoprefecture ("Baozhou") with the administrative office in Baosai County (modern Baoding). [11] This lasted until 1241, when the Mongol Empire (who conquered the Jin dynasty in 1234) abolished it, incorporating Baozhou into the Central Region.
In the year 1213 the Mongol army invaded and destroyed Baozhou, leaving it in ruins until it was reconstructed in 1227 during the Yuan dynasty. The region acquired the name "Baoding" in 1275.
In 1669, Baoding became the capital of Zhili, ruled over by a Viceroy until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912.
On August 1, 1949, the People's Government of Hebei province was established, Baoding was the capital of the province, and the city of Baoding was a provincial municipality. On August 9, the administrative inspector's office of the Baoding district was established, and it was established as the administrative inspector's office of the county district.
In May 1958, the capital of Hebei was moved to Tianjin, then back to Baoding in January 1966, to Shijiazhuang in February 1968. In December 1994, the Baoding area merged with Baoding to become a provincial city.
Baoding is located in the west-central portion of Hebei province and lies on the North China Plain, with the Taihang Mountains to the west. Bordering prefecture-level cities in the province are Zhangjiakou to the north, Langfang and Cangzhou to the east, and Shijiazhuang and Hengshui to the south. Baoding also borders Beijing to the northeast and Shanxi to the west.
Elevations in Baoding's administrative area decrease from northwest to southeast. The western parts are dominated by mountains and hills that are generally more than 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) tall; this area includes parts of Laishui, Yi, Mancheng, Shunping, Tang, and Fuping Counties as well as the entirety of Laiyuan County, occupying 30.6% of the prefecture's area.[1] The highest peak is Mount Waitou (歪头山), with an elevation of 2,286 metres (7,500 ft).[1] Moving southeast from this area, one encounters low-lying mountains and hills, taking up 18.9% of the prefecture's area.[1] Further to the east lies generally flat terrain of 30 to 100 metres (98 to 330 ft) elevation. Here the primary rivers are the Xiaoyi River (孝义河), Fu River (府河), Bao River(瀑河), Ping River(萍河), Juma River(拒马河), Yishui River (易水河), Tang River (唐河), Cao River(漕河), Zhulong River(潴龙河), Qingshui River (清水河), and Sha River (沙河)s.[12]Baiyangdian Lake, the largest natural lake in northern China, can be found nearby.
Climate
Baoding has a continental, monsoon-influenced humid continental climate/semi-arid climate (KöppenDwa/BSk),[13] characterised by hot, humid summers due to the East Asian monsoon, and generally cold, windy, very dry winters that reflect the influence of the vast Siberian anticyclone. Spring can bear witness to sandstorms blowing in from the Mongolian steppe, accompanied by rapidly warming, but generally dry, conditions. Autumn is similar to spring in temperature and lack of rainfall. The annual rainfall, about 60% of which falls in July and August alone, is highly variable and not reliable. In the city itself, this amount has averaged to a meagre 496.1 millimetres (19.5 in) per annum. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −2.7 °C (27.1 °F) in January to 27.1 °C (80.8 °F) in July, and the annual mean is 13.3 °C (55.9 °F). There are 2,500 to 2,900 hours of bright sunshine annually, and the frost-free period lasts 165−210 days.
Climate data for Baoding (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1971–2010)
Note: Baoding New High Technology Product Development Zone (保定高新技术产业开发区) includes Damafang Township (大马坊乡) of Jingxiu District and Jiantai Township (贤台乡) of Mancheng District; the Baigou New City (白沟新城) includes Baigou Town (白沟镇) of Gaobeidian City.
Note: The 58,709 people residing in Baoding High Technology Product Development Zone and the 124,274 in the Baigou New City are not listed separately.
According to the 2010 Census, the residence population stood at 11,194,382, an increase of 605,100 (5.71%) from 2000. The male-female ratio was 101.94:100. Children aged up to 14 numbered 1,915,800 (17.11% of the population), citizens 15 to 64 numbered 8,370,600 (74.78%), and 65+ numbered 908,000 (8.11%). The urban area of Baoding made of 5 urban Districts had a population of around 2,739,887 (2010 census). The overwhelming majority of the population is Han Chinese. The language of Baoding is Mandarin Chinese — specifically, the Baoding dialect of Ji-Lu Mandarin. Despite Baoding's proximity to Beijing, the Chinese spoken in Baoding is not particularly close to the Beijing dialect — rather, it is more closely related to Tianjin dialect.
Economy
Baoding is located in the centre of the Bohai Rim economic area which includes Beijing, Tianjin, and Shijiazhuang. One of the largest employers in Baoding is China Lucky Film, the largest photosensitive materials and magnetic recording media manufacturer in China.[22] And, Yingli group, 2010 World Cup sponsor, has its headquarters in Baoding, who is the Global Top 10 solar panel manufacturer. More renowned companies include ZhongHang HuiTeng Windpower Equipment Co., Ltd (Wind Turbine), Baoding Tianwei Group Co., Ltd (Transformer), and Great Wall Motor.
In April 2017, an area in Baoding was designated as a Xiong'an New Area, a development zone of initially 100 km2 and up to 2000 km2, the site of what will eventually be a new city and the hub of the Beijing-Tinajin-Hebei development area.
Great Wall Motors Company Limited is a Chinese automobile manufacturer headquartered in Baoding, Hebei, China. The company is named after the Great Wall of China and was formed in 1984. It is China's largest sport utility vehicle (SUV) and pick-up truck producer. It sells passenger cars and trucks under the Great Wall brand and SUVs under the Haval and WEY brands.
In 2016, Great Wall Motors set a historical sales record of 1,074,471 cars worldwide, increased by 26% compared to 2015.
Renewable energy
Baoding City has one of China's biggest plants which manufactures blades used in wind turbinegenerators, catering mainly to the domestic market. Tianwei Wind Power Technology is one of the three main plants in Baoding that produces wind turbine generators. It wheeled out its first 20 turbines in 2008, and it will produce 150 units in 2009 and another 500 in 2010. Nevertheless, Baoding is currently listed as the most polluted city in China.[24]
Baoding has good connections to other cities, being located on one of the main routes in and out of Beijing. The Jingshi Expressway connects the two cities, and Baoding is also the western terminus of the Baojin Expressway linking Baoding with Tianjin, which is one out of two nearest ports (Huanghua is the other one). The Jingguang Railway provides frequent services to Beijing West railway station. On 30 December 2012, a new Baoding station was opened, while the old train station was closed for passengers.[25]Baoding East railway station lies 9.5 km (5.9 mi)to the east on the Beijing–Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong high-speed railway. On October 1, 2018, the east square of Baoding Railway Station was officially put into use, and the east station building of the railway station was also opened at the same time.[26]
Perhaps the best-known item to supposedly originate in Baoding are Baoding Balls, which can be used to relax one's keyboard hand and strengthen one's wrist. The most famous local specialty food is the Donkey Burger (Chinese: 驴肉火烧).
Anxin County is home to the Quantou Village Music Association (圈头村音乐会), a well known traditional music group performing on guan (oboes), sheng (mouth organs), and percussion. The village of Quantou is located on an island in Lake Baiyangdian.
The city's streets follow a rough grid pattern, although this is less obvious in the older part of the city. The traditional main street of old Baoding is Yuhua Road, running from the city's centre to its eastern edge — most of Baoding's historic buildings are located in this area, along with some of its larger shopping centres. Other major streets include Dongfeng Road and Chaoyang Avenue. There is a ring road around the city.
A courtyard in the mansion of the governor of Zhili
Baoding contains a number of notable historic sites. In the city proper, there can be found a historic provincial governor's mansion and an ancient lotus garden. In the hills to the northwest of the city, near the suburb of Mancheng, there are the Mancheng Han Tombs, where Prince Liu Sheng and his wife Dou Wan were buried.
The greater Baoding administrative area has 16 designated state-level cultural relics:
Yan State Capital Relics (475BC-221BC, Yixian County)
Great Wall at Zijinguan Pass (1368–1644, Yixian County and Laiyuan County)
^Shi Weile, ed. (2005). Zhongguo Lishi Diming Da Cidian (中国历史地名大词典) [Large Dictionary of Chinese Historical Place Names] (in Chinese). China Social Sciences Press. p. 1917. ISBN7-5004-4929-1.
^"Santiago圣地亚哥市". hebwb.hebei.gov.cn (in Chinese). Hebei People's Association For Friendship With Foreign Countries. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
^"Green Urban Denmark"(PDF). ens.dk. The Danish Energy Agency and Danish Ministry of Housing, Urban and Rural Affairs. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
^"驻丹麦大使李瑞宇会见森讷堡市长Aase Nyegaard女士". China-embassy.gov.cn (in Chinese). Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Kingdom of Denmark. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
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