Xuanhua District

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This article is about the city, now a district, previously in Republic of China's Chahar Province and now part of Hebei. For the contemporary Buddhist monk of the same name, see Hsuan Hua.

Xuanhua (Simplified Chinese: 宣化; Pinyin: Xuānhuā) is a district in the Zhangjiakou prefecture-level city in Hebei Province, China.

Xuanhua is 180 km North-West of Beijing. It has a population of 274,000 people. Xuanhua is a very old city with a rich militray and agricultural history. 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.

1 History
- 1.1 Military
2 Agriculture
3 Industry
4 References

[edit] History

Zhu Di, prior to becoming the Yongle Emperor, was the Prince of Yan, ruling in Xuanhua.

Xuanhua is home to a Liao Dynasty (960-1127) tomb with a colored star atlas painted with 268 stars including the sun, the moon and five planets -- Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

[edit] Military

Historically, Xuanhua has been the "Gateway to Beijing," a city with a large garrison that was close enough to the capital to be strategically vital.

Xuanhua was also the garrison headquarters for the soldiers on the Xuanda-Shanxi Military Area, commanding Xuanfu Zhen, Datong Zhen and ShanxiZhen of the Great Wall, one of the three military governorships of the great wall in the Ming Dynasty.

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

[edit] Agriculture

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.