An "enclave" is when a country's territory is not connected to its mainland and exists independently of its territory. When a country has an enclave, to travel to this area, one has to travel through the territory of other countries to reach it.
Enclaves can be divided into two types: outer enclaves and inner enclaves. An outer enclave is an enclave between countries, while an inner enclave is an enclave between provinces or counties within a country.
Let's talk about domestic enclaves. Although China does not have international enclaves, it does have many internal enclaves. The existence of these enclaves has added some interesting elements to the administrative divisions, and their formation has also been influenced by various historical factors.
Three counties in the north. One of China's largest and most famous enclaves, it is located in Hebei Province, sandwiched between Beijing and Tianjin, and not connected to the rest of the province. To get here from Hebei Province, you have to go through Beijing or Tianjin. This land covers an area of 1,277 square kilometers and has a population of 1.11 million. There are three county seats, including Sanhe City, Xianghe County, and Dachang Hui Autonomous County, all of which are part of Langfang City in Hebei Province. Because it is located in the north of Langfang City, it is called the North Three Counties. Due to its unique geographical location, the Beisanxian area has become one of the places with the fastest economic development in Hebei Province, and is regarded as the "Special Economic Zone" of Hebei Province and enjoys the reputation of "Beijing's back garden".
The three northern counties have obvious geographical advantages, and they are only separated from Beijing by a river. It has ushered in a large-scale development of real estate, especially in the nearest town of Yanjiao in Sanhe City, which is only 30 kilometers away from Tiananmen Square. Because the housing prices are much lower than in Beijing, it has attracted a large number of people from the north to settle down. Every day, groups of northern drifters travel back and forth between these two places, forming a scene where Yanjiao is nicknamed "Sleeping City". Despite its proximity to Beijing, Yanjiao belongs to Hebei Province after all, and the Metro Line 6 will no longer extend to the west bank of the Chaobai River. Although it is only separated by a river, the policy differences are obvious, and there are many questions about the future development direction of the three northern counties.
Dihu Township, Tianzhu County, Guizhou Province.
At the junction of Guizhou Province and Hunan Province, there is a special place, that is, Dihu Township. Although Dihu Township belongs to Guizhou Province, it is surrounded by Hunan Province, 55 kilometers from the county seat and only 25 kilometers from Huitong County in Hunan Province. The enclave covers an area of 30 square kilometres and is home to more than 4,000 people, most of whom are Hmong.
How did the enclave of Dihu Township come to be?In the final analysis, it is caused by various factors such as private ownership of land in ancient times, regional mobility, land transactions between the two provinces, and regional changes in different periods. Today's Dihu Township, Guizhou people and Hunan people live here together. About two-thirds of the residents in the market town of Dihu are from Guizhou and one-third from Hunan, and they live in harmony. There is even a street where one side belongs to Guizhou and the other side belongs to Hunan, and it is a great thing to see the house numbers of two provinces hanging on the house.
In addition, there is an enclave belonging to Hunan Province in Tianzhu County, located in the northwest of Dihu Township, which is much smaller than Dihu Township, about the size of a village, and it is also an interesting place.
Wenbao Township, Longde County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
Wenbao Township belongs to Longde County, but the whole township is located in Gansu Province, which is cut off by the land of Jingning County in Gansu Province and is not connected to the land of Ningxia. The township covers an area of 82 square kilometers and has 1With a population of 70,000, it is the most populous township in the county. It is home to the sculptor Yang Qihe and many sculpture artists of his family, and is known as the "hometown of clay sculpture". In addition, there is a small enclave in the southeast of Wenbao Township, called Xue Yang Village, which covers an area of 16 square kilometers. The reasons for the formation of these two enclaves are quite complex, but they are mainly the result of the repeated division of the territory of Ningxia and Gansu. Some areas sometimes belong to Gansu, sometimes to Ningxia, and in the early days Wenbao Township even had a narrow strip of land connected to Ningxia, but after the boundary survey, part of the land in this area was assigned to Gansu. As a result, the township of Winburg also became an enclave.
Tianjin Iron Works, Shexian County, Hebei Province.
In Gengle Township, northeast of Shexian County, Hebei Province, there is a land where a large number of Tianjin people live who speak Tianjin accents and hold Tianjin hukou. This place is where the Tianjin Iron Works is located. Tiechang Street belongs to Hedong District of Tianjin, and although it belongs to Tianjin, its actual location is 500 kilometers away. The land covers an area of 5 square kilometers and is home to more than 20,000 people. Tianjin Iron Works was founded in August 1969 and is located in Shexian County, Hebei Province, the old revolutionary base area, as an ironmaking production base. The initial goal was to solve the problem of steel but no iron in Tianjin. In 1969, with the approval of the state, 400 million yuan was invested in the depths of the Taihang Mountains to establish a modern iron plant for Tianjin. Originally named "6985" Project, it was renamed Tianjin Iron Works in 1981. In September 1988, the Tianjin Iron Works Sub-district Office was formally established, under the dual leadership of the people of Tianjin Hedong District and Tianjin Iron Works. Today's Tianjin Iron Works has been renamed Tiantie Metallurgical Group, with 2 employees60,000 people. In half a century of construction and development, the company's strength has grown rapidly, and now it has become China"Fortune 500 companies"One.
Beijing Shuanghe Farm.
This Beijing enclave, located in the distant Gannan County of Heilongjiang Province, is more than 1,000 kilometers away from Beijing and is called Shuanghe Farm. This land covers an area of 380 square kilometers and has a total of 1It has a population of 10,000 and covers an area of 570,000 mu, of which 530,000 mu is located in Gannan County and 40,000 mu is located in Meilis District, Qiqihar City.
Shuanghe*** is also the predecessor of Beijing Shuanghe Farm, which was established in May 1956. In 1981, in order to strengthen the public security work in the capital, it was included in the Beijing Municipal Administration and renamed the Beijing Shuanghe Municipal Second Detachment. Began to receive the best personnel in Beijing, and continued to undertake the dual tasks of transformation and production. Although the land use right belongs to Shuanghe Farm, the land ownership right is still in the hands of the territorial **.
This black soil located in the northeast is fertile, sunny, and rich in water resources, which is suitable for the growth and large-scale mechanization of corn, wheat, rice, soybeans, kidney beans and other crops. It is a green product production base established by the people of Beijing on the Songnen Plain in Heilongjiang Province. After decades of development and construction, Shuanghe Farm has developed into a modern medium-sized state-owned farm with large-scale mechanized agriculture and farm-run industry.
What other interesting enclaves are well known?