Zhangjiakou

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Image:Shijiazhuang in Hebei.png Image:ChinaHebeiZhangjiakou.png Zhangjiakou (Traditional Chinese: 張家口; Simplified Chinese: 张家口; pinyin: Zhāngjiākǒu; Mongolian: Чуулалт Хаалга [Čuulalt Haalga]; Classical Mongolian: Qaɣalɣan; Manchu: Imiyangga jase) is a city in Hebei Province, China.

The city was formerly known as Kalgan; this name is derived from "хаалга" in the Mongolian name, which means "gate" in the Great Wall.

[edit] Introduction

Zhangjiakou has a population of 4.3 million, and covers 36,947 square kilometers. It lies to the northwest of the province and is linked from Datong in Shanxi by the Xuanda Expressway and from Beijing by means of the Jingzhang Expressway. Zhangjiakou is further linked to a freeway to inner Mongolia which opened on September 7, 2005.

Zhangjiakou's main economic lifeline is energy.

The entire jurisdiction of Zhangjiakou City extends beyond just central Zhangjiakou (divided into Qiaoxi District and Qiaodong District), but extends also into other outlying areas such as Zhangbei, Yangyuan, Xuanhua and even Huailai, which is less than 20 kilometers away from Beijing.

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Mayor: Gao Jinhao

[edit] Modern History

In the early 1960s at the height of Sino-Soviet tensions, Zhangjiakou was considered one of the most important cities in China for military strategy reasons. Zhangjiakou was aptly nicknamed, "Beijing's Northern Door," ("北京北大门") because whomever controlled Zhangjiakou was in a good position to either attack (in the case of the Soviets) or defend (in the case of the Chinese) Beijing.

Zhangjiakou is home to Hebei North University.

[edit] Zhangjiakou in fiction

In the novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes, the two main characters, Guo Jing and Huang Rong are first met in this city.
Zhangjiakou was the setting for Zhang Yimou's film Not One Less (1999).

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Zhangjiakou

Prefecture-level divisions of Hebei

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