Zhangjiajie ( simplified Chinese : 张家界 ; traditional Chinese : 張家界 ; pinyin : Zhāngjiājiè ; Tujia : Zanxjiaxgaif /tsán tɕá kǎi/), is a prefecture-level city in the northwestern part of Hunan Province , China. It comprises the district of Yongding , Wulingyuan and counties of Cili and Sangzhi . It contains the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park , part of the Wulingyuan Scenic Area which was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992.
21-581: The city itself was previously named Dayong ( 大庸 ) and has a recorded history dating back to 221 BC. People lived here along both banks of the Lishui River (the mother river in Zhangjiajie), now within the boundaries of Zhangjiajie City, very early during the Stone Age . Human settlement in this region dates back 100,000 years, rivaling famous sites such as Xi'an , Beijing and others. In 1986,
42-479: A sub-provincial city are sub-prefecture-level; and districts of a prefecture-level city are county-level . The term was also formerly used to refer to obsolete county-controlled districts (also known as district public office ). However, if the word district is encountered in the context of ancient Chinese history , then it is a translation for xian , another type of administrative division in China. Before
63-429: A UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. The National Forest Park had been given the name of Zhangjiajie after the name of a small village located within its bounds and now a popular tourist attraction within the park. The three-character name ( 张家界 ) can be interpreted as follows: " Zhang " ( 张 ) is a common surname in China; "jia" ( 家 ) can be translated as "family" and "jie" ( 界 ) can be translated as "homeland", giving
84-462: A district. After the 1990s, county-controlled districts began to be phased out, and their role was taken over by larger towns or townships created by merging smaller ones. At the end of 2014, there was just one county-controlled district left in China: (See Administrative divisions of China for how these two types of districts fit into the general administrative hierarchy of mainland China.) If
105-458: A highly developed culture in this region. However, the society which developed only endured briefly before waning and being superseded by other regional powers. This seems understandable in view of Zhangjiajie's remote geographical position, its undeveloped land and river transportation and its mountainous terrain making cultivation difficult. For these reasons, Zhangjiajie has been labeled "the Land of
126-489: Is Guo Zhenggui and the current mayor is Liu Ge'an. The Zhangjiajie Hehua International Airport services scheduled service to major airports in China. It is about 5 km (3.1 mi) away from the downtown and 30 km (19 mi) away from Wulingyuan Scenic Area. There are domestic flights available between Zhangjiajie and other cities, such as Changsha , Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, etc. Flights between Zhangjiajie and Seoul and Busan are also available. Zhangjaijie
147-852: Is a river in Hunan province of China , one of the Yangtze River 's four largest tributaries in the province. Lishui has three origination places, the north, the middle and the south. The north one is the most important place, origination from Shanmujie of Sangzhi County in Zhangjiajie . The middle one, origination from the east side of the Badagong Mountain in Sangzhi and the south place, origination from Longjiazhai of Yongshun County in Xiangxi . The three originations join
168-446: Is a sub-county in China. A branch of a county government, a district public office (Chinese: 区公所 ; pinyin: Qū gōngsuǒ ) is the administrative office in a district; it is not a local government . A county-controlled district was once an important subdivision of a county all over China from the 1950s to 1990s. It was common for there to be about five to ten districts in a county, then about three to five towns and townships in
189-664: Is served by two railway stations. Zhangjiajie railway station is on the Jiaozuo–Liuzhou railway . Zhangjiajie West railway station opened in 2019 on the Qianjiang–Changde railway . Due to tourism, the G5513 Changsha–Zhangjiajie Expressway links provincial capital Changsha and Zhangjiajie. Zhangjiajie is twinned with: Lishui River Lishui River (also known as Li River , Chinese language : 澧水, pinyin : lǐshuǐ, Wade-Giles : li -shui )
210-780: The Academy of Chinese Social Science discovered Stone Age relics in Cili County , unearthing 108 articles of stoneware; mostly tapered-form, hacked-tamped and plate-shaped works. Shortly thereafter, in 1988, the Archaeological Institute of the Hunan Province found other relics in Sangzhi County, including three pieces of stoneware that were estimated to have been fashioned over around the same time period. Ten thousand years ago, those who lived within
231-684: The 1980s, cities in China were administrative divisions containing mostly urban, built-up areas, with very little farmland, except for the immediate suburbs in order to ensure a large supply of food or raw materials. As a result, districts were also mostly urban or suburban in nature. After the 1980s, prefectures began to be replaced with prefecture-level cities . From then on, "cities" in mainland China became just like any other administrative division, containing urban areas, towns, villages, and farmland. These cities are subdivided into districts, counties , autonomous counties , and county-level cities . At
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#1732772130763252-644: The Savage Southern Minority" since the earliest recorded history. Additional name descriptors have been the "Wuling Rude People" and "Tujia Rude People", indicative of discriminatory views held against the regional culture. The new name of Zhangjiajie City was adopted in 1994, after the National Forest Park in the Wulingyuan Scenic Area in order to give it more prominence and after this site had been designated
273-612: The Zhangjiajie National Forest Park area. Zhangjiajie's name, the earliest in the Ming Chongzhen four years (1631) "Zhang Genealogy" preface. The preface was written by Zhang Zaichang, the sixth grandson of Zhang Wancong, commander of Yongding Wei Dayong Office. During the reign of Hongzhi of the Ming Dynasty (1488–1506), the imperial court, seeing Zhang Wancong's meritorious service in guarding
294-756: The area after a suspicious Liu Bang , the founder of Han dynasty, started to persecute his staffs and generals who had contributed to his becoming emperor. It was so named to signify that the Zhang family had set up home there. "jie" in the city has two meanings: one refers to the boundary of ownership, the other refers to high mountains. The Daoguang edition of the Qing Dynasty "Annals of Yongding County" contained: "Wudong Stream originated in Zhangjiajie." Republic of China edition of "Cili County records" contained: "Suoxi from Zhangjiajie." Here Zhangjiajie, refers to
315-525: The boundaries of what is now Zhangjiajie City employed fire to bake pottery. Archaeologists have found more than 20 relics of this kind in the Cili County . While in Sangzhi County , a black clay pot adorned with a unique design was unearthed dating back ten thousand years. During that period, this pottery-firing technique was the most advanced in China. These technological advancements in the fashioning of stone tools and pottery would seem to indicate
336-436: The completed translation of "Zhang family homeland." It has been reported that at least one tourist guide has said that the name may have been chosen to convey the idea or impression of "Open the family door to welcome the world" ( 张 开 家 门引进世 界 ), but this is not the locally accepted and directly-translated meaning of the name. The official version of its name is linked to a Han general and advisor, Zhang Liang , who resettled in
357-444: The context of China , is used to refer to several unrelated political divisions in both ancient and modern China. In the modern context, district ( 区 ), formally city-governed district , city-controlled district , or municipal district ( 市辖区 ), are subdivisions of a municipality or a prefecture-level city . The rank of a district derives from the rank of its city. Districts of a municipality are prefecture-level ; districts of
378-1488: The main river in Nancha of Sangzhi , then runs east. Loushui River is a tributary of Lishui River. It flows into the Dongting Lake at Xiaodukou in Jinshi . Its total length is 388 kilometres (241 mi). This article related to a river in China is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . District (China) Provinces Autonomous regions Sub-provincial autonomous prefectures Autonomous prefectures Leagues (Aimag) (abolishing) Prefectures Provincial-controlled cities Provincial-controlled counties Autonomous counties County-level cities Districts Ethnic districts Banners (Hoxu) Autonomous banners Shennongjia Forestry District Liuzhi Special District Wolong Special Administrative Region Workers and peasants districts Ethnic townships Towns Subdistricts Subdistrict bureaux Sum Ethnic sum County-controlled districts County-controlled district bureaux (obsolete) Management committees Town-level city Areas Villages · Gaqa · Ranches Village Committees Communities Capital cities New areas Autonomous administrative divisions National Central Cities History: before 1912 , 1912–49 , 1949–present The term district , in
399-1155: The same time, counties and county-level cities began to be replaced with districts, especially after 1990. From then onwards, districts were no longer strictly urban entities—some districts today are just like counties, with large towns and townships under them governing rural areas. A regular district under a municipality or prefecture-level city . A type of city districts that are specially created for ethnic minorities . Currently there are five such "ethnic districts": three in Henan , one in Heilongjiang , and one in Inner Mongolia . One county-level special district, located in Guizhou . One special sub-prefectural-level forestry district, located in Hubei . A county-controlled district , sometimes translated as county-governed district ; county district ; or sub-county (Chinese: 县辖区,区 ; pinyin: Xiànxiáqū, Qū )
420-534: The town, awarded him the "mountain land" around the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park as a fief. He then moved his family up the mountain to maintain the business. Ming Chongzhen three years (1630), the sixth generation of Zhang Wancong's grandson Zhang Zaihong was given a regiment officer, and set up a government office here. This area became the hereditary territory of the Zhang family, called "Zhangjiajie". Zhangjiajie administers two districts and two counties . The current CPC Party Secretary (chief) of Zhangjiajie
441-422: The word "district" is encountered in the context of ancient Chinese history , then the word is a translation for xian , another type of administrative division in China. Xian has been translated using several English terms. In the context of ancient history, "district" and "prefecture" are commonly used, while "county" is used for more contemporary contexts. (See Counties of China for more information on
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