The phenomenon of place names in China is quite interesting. Some places have the word "city" in their name, but they are not actually cities, but just ordinary towns;Other places have the word "township" in their name, but they are the name of a county seatWhat's more, some place names are the name of a village, but they become the capital of a province. These phenomena are quite amazing.
China has a long history, and each place name carries a rich cultural connotation, and after thousands of years of changes, it has formed a unique title. In recent years, China's administrative divisions have been adjusted frequently, and many places have been upgraded from counties to cities, or from cities to districts, resulting in many place names that do not match the actual situation. Let's take a look at what are the cases?
Many people have misconceptions about this place and mistakenly think that it is just a small town. Despite the word "town" in the name, in fact, Tianzhen is not a town, but a county under Datong City, Shanxi Province. Tianzhen County is located in the northeast of Shanxi, bordering Shanxi, Hebei and Mongolian provinces, with a total area of 1,718 square kilometers and a population of about 1580,000 people.
The town of Sky has a long history. As early as the Qin Dynasty, there was Yanling County;In the Western Han Dynasty, two counties of Yangyuan and Yanling were set up;In the Northern Wei Dynasty, it was renamed Guangmu County;The Tang Dynasty set up the Tiancheng Army;Liaojin Yuan changed its name to Tiancheng County;The Ming Dynasty was restructured into Tianchengwei, and later added the Zhenwei guard;In the third year of Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty, Tiancheng and Zhenyu Erwei were merged into Tianzhenwei;In the third year of Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty, it was renamed Tianzhen County, which is still in use today.
Despite the word "county" in the name, in fact, Huixian has become a city named Huixian City. The name may sound awkward, but it's the official name. Huixian City, which belongs to Xinxiang City, Henan Province, is located in the northwest of the province, with a total area of 2,007 square kilometers and a population of about 930,000.
During the Tang Dynasty, Huixian was called Gongzhou;In the Jin Dynasty, it was renamed Huizhou. The reason for the name "Huizhou" comes from the Qinghui Hall in the Wei Hui Wang's Temple in Baiquan Town, and the name of the Qinghui Hall is taken from the famous landscape poet Xie Lingyun of the Eastern Jin Dynasty "Mountains and rivers contain Qinghui" poem. Therefore, under the name of "Hui", it is called "Huizhou". In the first year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Huizhou was abolished and Huixian was established. After many splits and mergers during the ** period, it finally returned to Huixian. Until October 1988, Huixian County was abolished and Huixian City was established, which was administered by Xinxiang City.
Similar to Tianzhen, although Zhoucun has "village" in its name, it is actually not an ordinary village, but a municipal district of a city, which belongs to Zibo City, Shandong Province, and is known as Zhoucun District, with a total area of 307 square kilometers and a population of about 2750 thousand.
The history of Zhoucun can be traced back more than 1,300 years, and its southern part was once part of Zichuan County, while the northern part belonged to Changshan County. In August 1945, Zhoucun was liberated for the first time and Zhoucun City was establishedHowever, by March 1950, Zhoucun and Changshan were merged to form Changshan County. In the same year, Zhoucun was separated from Changshan County and merged with Zhangdian to form Zhangzhou City. In April 1955, Zhoucun became the municipal district of Zibo City again.
The history of Zhoucun can be traced back to the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, and it is known as the "Northern Dry Wharf", "Silk Township" and "the first village in the world", and is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.
This ancient ** has preserved more than 50,000 square meters of ancient buildings of the Ming and Qing dynasties, which has experienced hundreds of years of wind and rain baptism and is still well preserved. Visiting the scenic spot, you can see many historic sites, the streets are criss-crossed, all kinds of shops are lined up, the architectural styles are very different, the integration of Chinese and Western cultures, and the unique Jiangbei style. Amazingly, the commercial function here has remained active, and it has been praised by Chinese ancient architecture experts as "China's revitalized ancient commercial building museum complex". During the Qianlong period, the lantern festival of the Lantern Festival in Zhoucun was extremely spectacular, and even attracted the Qianlong Emperor to watch it in person, and gave Zhoucun the reputation of "the first village in the world".
Shaxian snacks are well-known throughout the country for their unique flavor, exquisite craftsmanship, diverse varieties and affordable**, according to statistics, there are more than 180,000 snack bars in Shaxian County are out for business, employing more than 50,000 people. However, do you know where Shaxian is located?
Today's Shaxian County is no longer an independent county, but a Shaxian District under the jurisdiction of Sanming City. It is located in the western part of Fujian Province, with a total area of 1,815 square kilometers and a population of about 270,000.
Shaxian County, located in the ancient city of Fujian, has been established as early as the Eastern Jin Dynasty, originally named Shacun County, because its southern end has a sand source and got its name. During the Sui Dynasty, Shacun County was abolished for a time, but it was re-established during the Tang Wude period and renamed Shaxian, a name that has continued to this day.
However, on January 12, 2021, Shaxian County was revoked and became the Shaxian District of Sanming City. Shaxian County is famous for its rich titles, and the honors of "Hometown of Chinese Bamboo Mats", "Hometown of Chinese Snacks" and "Famous City of Chinese Snack Culture" all highlight its characteristics and culture.
White Market, despite its name, is not a bustling city, but a quiet township. It is located in the northeast of Guang'an City, Sichuan Province, 45 kilometers away from the city. The White Market has a long history and was known as Huilong City in ancient times. During the Qing Dynasty, commerce flourished here, and because of the local production of high-quality rice, there were many rice shops, so it was renamed Baishi, named after the characteristics of rice. Baishi is an ancient town full of historical heritage, built in the Qing Dynasty, and the four city gates of east, west, north and south are well preserved to this day. In the town, various ancient buildings such as the Baiju General's Mansion, Huizhao Temple, Guanyin Temple, and the ancient bluestone pavement add a strong ancient town style to this land.
Gu County, in the territory of Guang'an City, is also full of fun. Although it is called a county, it is actually a unique town. Located in the north of Yuechi County, Guxian Town was originally the seat of administration when Yuechi County was established, and later moved to the location of today's Yuechi County. Originally named "Guxian", then "Gu" was changed to "Gu", and the name has continued to this day, and it is also an ancient town with a history of 1,000 years.
China's "Zhuang" villages abound, whether it is Wangjiazhuang or Lijiazhuang, which are distributed all over the country. However, Zaozhuang in Shandong is an exception. Despite its unpretentious name, in reality, it is not a village or township, nor a county or county-level city, but a prefecture-level city with a population of nearly 4 million.
Located in the southern part of Shandong Province and adjacent to Xuzhou in Jiangsu, Zaozhuang City was formed as a village during the Tang and Song dynasties. Because of the large number of local jujube trees, it is named Zaozhuang. Zaozhuang City was established relatively late, and in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, this area still belonged to Yi County and Teng County. In 1960, Yi County was upgraded to a county-level Zaozhuang City, and then in 1961, it became a prefecture-level city in Shandong Province, while Teng County was transferred to Zaozhuang City in 1979. Today, Zaozhuang City has five municipal districts and one county-level city, with a total population of 3.85 million, and is an important modern coal chemical, energy, building materials and machinery manufacturing base in Shandong Province, as well as one of the central cities in Lunan region.
There is a 5A-level scenic spot in the city, namely the ancient city of Taierzhuang. In addition, there are 12 4A-level tourist attractions such as Baoqinggu National Forest Park and Xiongershan National Geopark.
Another "Zhuang" similar to Zaozhuang is a more famous place, which is a little higher than Zaozhuang's level, that is, Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei Province.
The history of Shijiazhuang is not very long. At the beginning of the twentieth century, it was only a small village under the county of Lu. At that time, the deer was the cargo distribution center leading to Yanzhao and connecting Sanjin, and was known as the "dry wharf of daily gold". With the construction and opening of the Zhengtai Railway, the economic center shifted to the east, commerce began to flourish, and the deer gradually declined, and Shijiazhuang gradually replaced the position of the deer.
*In 14 years, "Shijia City" was established, and in the same year, Shijiazhuang and Xiumen were merged, and the first and last characters were selected and renamed Shimen City. In **36, Shimen City was renamed Shijiazhuang City again. Later, on January 29, 1968, the capital of Hebei Province was moved from Baoding to Shijiazhuang.
Shijiazhuang has a total administrative area of 13,504 square kilometers, with 8 municipal districts, 13 counties and county-level cities, and a total population of 11 million. Although Shijiazhuang has a short history of establishing the city, all the counties under its jurisdiction have a history of 1,000 years. Zhengding, Zhaoxian, Lingshou, Yuanshi and other counties all contain profound historical connotations and occupy an important position in the history of the development of Chinese civilization.
Zhengding County, in the north of the city, is a famous historical and cultural city in China, and was once called "the three male towns in the north" together with Beijing and Baoding. There are many cultural relics and historic sites here, 38 buildings have been preserved since the Sui and Tang dynasties, and it enjoys a high reputation for its magnificent landscape of "nine floors, four towers, eight temples, and twenty-four gold arches".
Longxing Temple was built in the sixth year of Emperor Kaihuang of the Sui Dynasty and is considered one of the top ten famous temples in China, and is praised as "the first famous temple outside Beijing" by the famous scholar Liang Sicheng. The Kaiyuan Temple Bell Tower is the only existing Tang Dynasty bell tower in China. The Lingxiao Pagoda of Tianning Temple, the Sumeru Pagoda of Kaiyuan Temple, the Chengling Pagoda of Linji Temple and the Duobao Pagoda of Guanghui Temple, have peculiar shapes, exquisite architecture, have extremely high architectural and aesthetic value, and are known as "the treasure house of ancient architectural art" and "Buddhist culture museum".
In Pingshan County, Xibaipo is recognized as one of the five famous revolutionary holy places in the country and is regarded as the "cradle of New China". The Zhaozhou Bridge in Zhao County was built in the Sui Dynasty and has a history of more than 1,400 years. After many floods, wars and **, it is still well preserved. It is the most intact ancient single-hole open-shoulder stone arch bridge in China, which is regarded as one of the "Four Treasures of North China" by Hebei folk, and is called the Bodhisattva statue of Cangzhou Iron Lion, Dingzhou Kaiyuan Temple Tower and Zhengding Longxing Temple.
What other place names make people feel "not worthy of the name"?Everyone is welcome to comment and add!100 help plan