The names of these four cities are so similar that they differ by only one word and come from the same surname, so it is easy to confuse. The four cities are Zhangjiakou, Zhangjiajie, Zhangjiagang and Zhangjiachuan.
These cities can be said to be the "quadruplets" of Chinese cities, they are distributed in different geographical locations, and each city has its own unique characteristics and charm.
First of all, let's get to know the representative of the "Zhang family" - Zhangjiakou. Zhangjiakou, also known as Zhangyuan, is located in the northern part of Hebei Province, with a total area of 3It covers 680,000 square kilometers and governs 6 districts and 10 counties, with a population of about 4.07 million.
The origin of the name can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty. At that time, the population of the northern region was decimated due to the prolonged war. In order to repair the border, the Ming Dynasty built the Great Wall on a large scale, attracting immigrants from densely populated areas such as Shanxi and Hebei to settle in Zhangjiakou and Xuanhua.
These migrants poured into the border, built fortified customs and built the Great Wall. In the vicinity of the East and West Taiping Mountain Passes, there is a family surnamed Zhang, so this place is called "Zhangjia Pass". Over time, the village gradually grew and grew, and was initially recorded as "Zhangjiakou Village" in the "Xuanfu Town Chronicles", and later simplified to "Zhangjiakou".
Zhangjiakou is located at the intersection of Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi and Mongolia, and is only 180 kilometers away from the capital Beijing and 340 kilometers away from Tianjin Port. At the same time, it is also the intersection of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Economic Circle and the Hebei-Jinmeng-Mongolia Economic Circle, and enjoys the reputation of "Pearl of the Outside of Cyprus" and "Great Wall Museum". The city is rich in history and culture, carrying a long history and unique folk culture.
Zhangjiakou bears the origin of the earliest civilization in China, and Zhulu County in its territory is the place where the "Battle of Zhulu" took place. As an ancient place, Zhuolu has a long history and is considered to be the birthplace of the Chinese nation. The Yellow Emperor, the Yan Emperor, and Chiyou, the three ancestors of the Chinese nation, fought and integrated here.
The Yellow Emperor City, also known as the Ancient City of Zhuolu, is located in the field of Zhuolu and is an ancient castle with a history of 5,000 years. According to the "Romance of Ancient Chinese History", it is regarded as "the Zhuolu at the beginning of ancient civilization". It has witnessed the history of civilization of the Chinese nation for thousands of years, and the battle between the Yellow Emperor and Chiyou opened the prelude to the history of Chinese civilization for 5,000 years.
The whole city has 53 national key cultural relics protection units, ranking second in the province;At the same time, it also has 1 national historical and cultural city, 2 national historical and cultural towns and 11 famous villages.
Located on the outskirts of Zhangjiakou City, the ancient city of Xuanhua plays an important role in China's history and is known as the "Shenjing Pinghan". It is the first capital city in the west of Beijing, so it is called "the first capital in western Beijing".
Since the Tang Dynasty, it has been the seat of states, towns, prefectures, and counties. In the 27th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, the Xuanfu City was expanded, the circumference of the city wall was 12 kilometers, and the side was as long as "six miles and thirteen steps", which was majestic and magnificent, and became an important fortress of border defense. Xuanfu in the Ming Dynasty was one of the nine towns of the Great Wall and an important part of the Great Wall culture.
Ul County is listed as a national historic city, and the ancient city of Ulzhou in its territory was built in the second year of the elephant in the Northern Zhou Dynasty and has a history of more than 1,400 years. This ancient city has been a prosperous and rich trading port since ancient times, and is not only rich in products, but also famous for its colorful folk culture.
Located 12 kilometers west of Wei County, Hebei Province, Nuanquan Ancient Town is an ancient settlement in the north that integrates nomadic culture and farming culture. Since ancient times, it has been an important transportation artery, a military important place and a prosperous commercial center, located on the Zhangku trade road, and is an important cargo distribution center.
There are many intact ancient castles, ancient houses, ancient temples and ancient theaters in the ancient town. Among them, there are more than 180 ancient residential buildings, as well as a steady stream of hot springs, giving this place the characteristics of constant temperature all year round. Nuanquan Ancient Town was listed as the second batch of "Chinese Historical and Cultural Towns" and enjoyed the reputation of "China's First Folk Customs".
Zhangjiajie is a prefecture-level city located in Hunan Province, located in the Wuling Mountains, with a total area of 9,533 square kilometers. It includes two districts of Yongding and Wulingyuan, as well as two counties of Cili and Sangzhi, with a total population of 1.68 million.
Earlier, the original name of Zhangjiajie was Dayong City, which was the location of the ancient Yong Kingdom. However, in order to promote the development of local tourism, considering that Zhangjiajie National Forest Park enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad, in 1994, the city decided to change the name of Dayong City to Zhangjiajie City.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Zhangjiajie became the hereditary domain of the Zhang family, and for hundreds of years, the descendants of the Zhang family multiplied here, and the population gradually increased to nearly 1,000 people. Another legend says that this place was called Zhangjiajie a long time ago: legend has it that Zhang Liang, the Marquis of the Western Han Dynasty, lived in seclusion here until his later years and was buried in the land of the four gates around the water.
Zhangjiajie has developed into a world-renowned tourist city due to the rise of tourism. It is home to amazing natural beauty, with a forest coverage rate of 65%, and China's first national forest park was established as early as 1982.
Wulingyuan Scenic Area has a rare quartz sandstone peak forest landform in the world, in the core scenic area, 3,000 stone pinnacles rise, 800 streams meander and meander. Tourists who come to Zhangjiajie are deeply shocked by Wulingyuan's unique sandstone peak forest landform and magnificent natural landscape, as if they are in a mysterious landscape fairyland. Therefore, Zhangjiajie is known as "the original of Chinese landscape painting", "miniature fairyland, enlarged bonsai".
In addition, Wulingyuan is also one of the first pioneers in China to be included in the list of world natural heritage sites and global geoparks, and it is also one of the first batch of 5A-level tourist attractions assessed by the country.
Zhangjiagang is a county-level city located on the south bank of the Yangtze River, with a total area of 999 square kilometers, 7 towns and 3 sub-districts, and a permanent population of about 1.44 million.
This place used to be called Shazhou County because there is an internationally renowned port called Zhangjiagang within the territory. This port is so famous that even many outsiders only know that there is Zhangjiagang, but do not know the existence of Shazhou County. In order to promote the common development of the port and the city, the local government put forward the development strategy of "rejuvenating the city with the port and promoting the port with the city", and abolished Shazhou County in 1986 to establish Zhangjiagang City.
As an economically developed port city, Zhangjiagang can be described as a local tyrant in the old Zhang family. Located on the south bank of the Yangtze River, only more than 100 miles away from the mouth of the Yangtze River, its first-class and shipping industry is prosperous and developed, with convenient port resources and developed economy and world-renowned world, is one of the important gateways of China's opening to the outside world. Over the years, its economic strength has been at the forefront of the county economy in the country.
As of 2022, Zhangjiagang's GDP has reached 272 billion yuan, and the county-level city's economic aggregate even exceeds that of Zhangjiakou, the eldest and Zhangjiajie, the second, combined. This is enough to demonstrate its strong economic strength.
In addition to its economic prosperity, Zhangjiagang is also blessed with stunning natural scenery and is a small city full of Jiangnan charm. The scenery of "Three Mountains and One Garden" here is beautiful and moving, and the ancient history and culture add a different charm to this place. But it's also the local produce that fascinate you.
Zhangjiagang is located in the south of the Yangtze River, rich in products, and enjoys many gourmet specialties such as Yangtze River three fresh, Yangtze River crab, Phoenix white tea, Phoenix rice, Phoenix peach, Shazhou Youhuang, etc., which are famous in the Jiangnan area.
Among them, the "Yangtze River Three Fresh" is the most eye-catching. The first of the "three fresh" anchovies is known as the nobility in the water, and it was listed as a royal tribute during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Its white as silver, delicious and fat, Su Dongpo once had a poem to praise its deliciousness: "Sprout ginger purple vinegar scorched whitebait, snow bowl to more than two feet." There is still peach blossom spring, and the flavor is better than that of the perch."
And "the snow at the head of the Yangtze River is waves, and the scales are splashed like knives", this poem praises the knifefish, one of the "three fresh". In spring, schools of saury fish pour into the river, creating a spectacular spectacle of fish. Another delicacy is pufferfish, which the Song Dynasty's Mingdao Magazine once called "the strange taste of the aquarium".
Compared with the previous three "Zhang families", Zhangjiachuan's fame is obviously much lower, and many people are not very familiar with it.
Zhangjiachuan is located under the jurisdiction of Tianshui City, Gansu Province, with a total area of 1311It covers 8 square kilometers and governs 10 towns and 5 townships, with a total population of about 300,000. As a Hui autonomous county, the Hui population is about 200,000, accounting for nearly 70% of the county's population, and it is also an ethnic autonomous county with the highest proportion of Hui population in the country.
The name of this place has a magnificent history. It is related to the envoy of the famous diplomat Zhang Qian in the Han Dynasty to the Western Regions, and the names of Zhangjiachuan and Changbeichuan and Zhangmianyi are all involved in that glorious history.
Zhangjiachuan is located at the foot of Guanshan Mountain, which is an important point of the Guanlong Ancient Road, and is also the necessary place for the ancient Silk Road to extend from Chang'an to the west.
Zhang Qian was sent to the Western Regions that year, and traveled all the way to the Green Mountains in the Hexi Corridor, Yumen Pass, and Yangguan, where he was intercepted by the Xiongnu King on the way to find the Dayue Clan, and was detained for a full twelve years. During that time, he even married the Xiongnu princess and gave birth to three sons and two daughters with her. But even so, Zhang Qian still had his mission in mind, and finally escaped from the Xiongnu with the help of the Xiongnu princess, and after many hardships, he successfully arrived in the countries of the Western Regions and completed his mission.
Zhang Qian's return to China passed through the area of Zhangjiachuan, which is located outside Guanshan and not far from Chang'an. In order to protect the Xiongnu princess and her five children and avoid accidents in the Hui Dynasty, he placed them here.
After Zhang Qian arrived in Chang'an, the Xiongnu princess looked forward to his return day and night, tears washed her face, and the scene was sad. Her sadness made the people around her feel the same way, and secretly called her "Princess Changbei". Soon after, the princess died of excessive grief and was buried in Zhangjiachuan Beichuan. This story led the locals to call the Beichuan area "Changbei River".
In order to commend Zhang Qian's achievements in digging through the Western Regions, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty authorized Zhang Qian's eldest son Zhang Mian to be a post officer, and the post station was located in Shiqiao Village, Handian Township, Zhuanglang County. However, due to frequent harassment by the enemy, Zhang Mian moved the post station to Zhangmian Township, Zhangjiachuan County. Because the name of the post lawsuit is Zhang Mian, later generations call this place Zhang Mianyi, and this name has been passed down to this day.
Zhang Qian's third son, Zhang Xu, was a subordinate of the flying general Li Guang, who was unfortunately killed in a battle. Zhang Qian buried Zhang Xu in Zhangjiachuan Santaiguan, and moved the tomb of "Princess Changbei" to Santaiguan, and also established an ancestral hall to commemorate this history.
In 113 BC, Zhang Mian was seriously wounded in a battle, and Zhang Qian rushed to visit him when he heard the news, but during this time he contracted an illness and died after four months of bedridden. His son Zhang Mian buried his father in Zhangjiachuan.
More than 1,000 years later, during the Chenghua period of Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Qian's descendant Zhang Shilang moved his tomb to his ancestral hometown of Chenggu in Hanzhong.
In order to remember the tragic experience of Zhang Qian's family, the locals called this land "Zhangjiachuan", and this name has continued to this day. Zhangjiachuan, as an important fortress in Longshang and a barrier in Guanzhong, carries a period of embarrassing joys and sorrows.
The similarities in the names of these four cities are striking, like "four brothers", which is somewhat difficult to distinguish.
They are located in the east, west, south and north of the motherland, and each city has its own unique historical and cultural characteristics. Zhangjiakou is famous for its long historical sites, Zhangjiajie attracts people from all over the world with its magnificent natural scenery, Zhangjiagang is famous for its developed economic strength, and Zhangjiachuan is nostalgic for its ethnic customs and rich history and culture. 100 help plan