Monday, October 13, 2008

Xuanhua District

Xuanhua is a district in the Zhangjiakou prefecture-level city in Hebei , 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 .

History



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

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

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.

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.

Industry



Xuanhua contains
*coal
*iron
*gold
*amargosite
*rich shale
*dolomite
*bentonite - Xuanhua has one of the largest deposits of bentonite in China.
and other mineral resources.

Its key industries are
*metallurgy
*machinery manufacturing
*chemical production
*electrical power generation
*papermaking
and
*brewing - the locally produced beer is "Zhōnglóu Píjiǔ" (钟楼 啤酒)or Bell-tower Beer.

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