How many places in Tongcheng are divided into Anqing?

In previous articles, the author talked to you about a series of stories about the economic development and zoning adjustments of various cities in Anhui Province, such as Hefei City, Wuhu City, Ma'anshan City, etc. in Anhui Province. Today, we talk about Anqing City in Anhui Province. Anqing City has a long history and is also the old capital of Anhui Province. At present, Anqing City has a total of 10 districts and counties under its jurisdiction, with a total population of more than 4 million. So, how was the zoning pattern of Anqing City’s 10 districts and counties formed?

First, let’s talk about the basic situation of Anhui Province. Anhui Province is one of the six provinces in central my country and also a province in East my country. In recent years, Anhui Province's economy has developed very rapidly, especially Hefei, the provincial capital. Anhui Province is my country's most populous and economic province. According to the statistics of the seventh census in 2020, the total population of Anhui Province is more than 61 million. Among the various provinces in our country, there are not too many provinces with a population of more than 60 million.

In 2021, Anhui Province’s total GDP exceeded 4.2 trillion, reaching a very good level in terms of per capita economic calculation. Anhui Province consists of two parts: southern Anhui and northern Anhui. Due to regional differences, northern Anhui and southern Anhui are different in many aspects. The accent, accent, customs and other aspects of northern Anhui are closer to the Central Plains culture or Qilu culture. The architectural style and food in southern Anhui belong to the standard Jianghuai culture. For example, there are big differences between the food in northern Anhui and southern Anhui.

At present, Anhui Province has a total of 16 prefecture-level cities under its jurisdiction, namely: Hefei City, Ma'anshan City, Huaibei City, Suzhou City, Fuyang City, Bengbu City, Huainan City, Chuzhou City, and Lu'an City, Wuhu City, Bozhou City, Anqing City, Chizhou City, Tongling City, Xuancheng City, and Huangshan City. Among them, Hefei, the provincial capital, is the largest city in Anhui Province and one of the cities with a GDP of one trillion in the country.

Anqing City is one of the 16 prefecture-level cities under the jurisdiction of Anhui Province, and it is also one of the important cities in Anhui Province. Anqing City has a long history and rich culture. It was once the old capital of Anhui Province. In 2021, the total population of Anqing City reached more than 4.1 million people. In 2021, Anqing City's total GDP will reach more than 260 billion. In terms of per capita economy, it is at a very good level. At present, Anqing City has jurisdiction over 3 districts, 2 county-level cities, and 5 counties, for a total of 10 districts and counties.

They are: Yingjiang District, Daguan District, Yixiu District, Tongcheng City, Huaining County, Qianshan City, Taihu County, Susong County, Wangjiang County, and Yuexi County. So, how was the zoning pattern of the 10 districts and counties in Anqing City formed step by step?

As we all know, my country’s provincial divisions appeared in the Yuan Dynasty. After hundreds of years of improvement and adjustment during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, the framework pattern of the inland provinces was basically formed. In the early days of the Qing Dynasty's rule, the Southern Zhili Province during the Ming Dynasty was abolished and Jiangnan Province was established. However, Jiangnan Province has a large population, dense water network, and vast area, which is not conducive to management. In the 6th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign, Jiangnan Province was abolished and Jiangsu Province and Anhui Province were formed. Among them, the capital of Anhui Province is established in Anqing Prefecture.

As of the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, Anhui Province had formed a divisional pattern of 8 prefectures and 5 Zhili prefectures, namely: Anqing Prefecture, Huizhou Prefecture, Ningguo Prefecture, Chizhou Prefecture, Taiping Prefecture, Luzhou Prefecture, Fengyang Prefecture, Yingzhou Prefecture, Lu'an Prefecture, Sizhou Prefecture, Hezhou Prefecture, Chuzhou Prefecture, and Guangzhou Prefecture. Among them, Anqing Prefecture governs 6 counties, namely: Huaining County, Tongcheng County, Qianshan County, Taihu County, Susong County, and Wangjiang County.

As the capital of Anhui Province, Anqing Prefecture has a very obvious feature, that is, it is a battleground for military strategists. Anqing Mansion is located at the throat of the Yangtze River and is an important barrier to defend Jiangning Mansion. During the Taiping Rebellion in the late Qing Dynasty, the Taiping Army and Zeng Guofan's Hunan Army fought several rounds of decisive battles over the ownership of Anqing Prefecture. After taking control of Anqing Prefecture, we can advance directly to the Jiangnan area and retreat to defend the direction of Jinghu Lake. This was the consideration when the Qing Dynasty established the capital of Anhui Province in Anqing Prefecture.

However, the geographical location of Anqing Prefecture is too far south, which is not conducive to the management of various state capitals in northern Anhui. This also laid the groundwork for the relocation of provincial capitals in the 1950s. In 1912, the Qing Dynasty, which had ruled for more than 200 years, fell, and our country entered a complex period of warlord warfare. Anhui Province connects the north and the south and has an important geographical location. Warlords in various places repeatedly fought in melee, causing great damage to various parts of Anhui. At the same time, northern Anhui has suffered from droughts, floods and other natural disasters. Coupled with the raging bandits in some areas, the people's lives are very difficult and they are in urgent need of recuperation.

In the blink of an eye, it is the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China. With the basic end of large-scale wars, our country has entered the stage of post-war reconstruction, resumption of production, and economic development. Due to actual management needs, Anhui Province was temporarily revoked and the North Anhui Administrative Area and the South Anhui Administrative Area were established. Administrative areas are temporary divisions that are aligned with each province. In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, our country also established a series of administrative areas such as the Northern Sichuan Administrative Area, the Western Sichuan Administrative Area, and the Tourism University Administrative Area. At that time, the administrative area of ??northern Anhui was located in Hefei City, and the administrative area of ??southern Anhui was located in Wuhu City.

With the steady advancement of the economy, overly complex zoning is not conducive to economic development. In 1952, the administrative areas of northern Anhui and southern Anhui were abolished and Anhui Province was reorganized. At the same time, various prefecture-level cities and special districts were established. At this time, the capital of Anhui Province had been established in Hefei.

After the Anqing Prefecture was established, it administered eight counties, namely: Huaining County, Wangjiang County, Susong County, Taihu County, Yuexi County, Qianshan County, Tongcheng County, and Tonglu County. In 1951, Tonglu County in Anqing Prefecture was renamed Hudong County, and it still had a layout of 8 counties.

After the Chizhou Prefecture was revoked in 1952, Tongling County, Guichi County, Qingyang County, Zhide County, Dongliu County and other places under its jurisdiction were placed under the management of the Anqing Prefecture. In the same year, in view of the importance of Anqing City, Anhui Province established the Anqing prefecture-level city. Anqing prefecture-level city and Anqing special region have a parallel relationship. Anqing prefecture-level city manages the main urban area, and Anqing special region manages the surrounding counties. In 1955, Hudong County in Anqing Prefecture was renamed Songyang County. In 1958, in a new round of zoning changes in Anhui Province, Anqing prefecture-level city was downgraded to a county-level city.

Subsequently, it was placed under the management of Anqing Zone. However, this history is very short. In 1961, in view of actual needs, Anhui Province reorganized the prefecture-level city of Anqing. In the 1950s and 1960s, my country's transportation and communications levels were limited, and there were too many districts and counties under its jurisdiction, which was not conducive to management. In 1965, Anhui Province reorganized Chizhou Prefecture. Four counties under the jurisdiction of Anqing Prefecture, including Guichi County, Qingyang County, Dongzhi County, and Tongling County, are included in the management of Chizhou Prefecture.

At the same stage, the prefecture-level city of Anqing was once again downgraded to a county-level city and placed under the management of the Anqing District. In the late 1960s, after all prefectures across the country were reorganized into regions, Anqing Prefecture was renamed Anqing Prefecture. In the late 1970s, my country's economy entered a stage of rapid development. In order to meet the needs of economic development, various regions under the jurisdiction of each province have successively begun zoning adjustments.

In 1979, Anhui Province established the Anqing prefecture-level city for the third time, coexisting with the Anqing area. After entering the 1980s, with the continued development of the Anqing area, the zoning began to be adjusted accordingly. In 1988, the Anqing Prefecture was abolished, and the eight counties under its jurisdiction, including Tongcheng County, Huaining County, Songyang County, Qianshan County, Taihu County, Susong County, Wangjiang County, and Yuexi County, were placed under the management of Anqing City. . During the same period, the main urban area of ??Anqing City formed Yingjiang District, Daguan District, suburbs, plus 8 counties, for a total of 11 districts and counties.

After entering the 1990s, the economy in Anqing City has developed rapidly. In 1996, Tongcheng County was abolished and Tongcheng county-level city was established. After entering the 21st century, with the overall rise, the urban area of ??Anqing City has further expanded and the urban population has further increased. In 2005, the suburbs of Anqing City were abolished and Yixiu District was formed. In 2015, Songyang County in Anqing City was placed under the management of Tongling prefecture-level city. In 2018, Qianshan County in Anqing City was abolished and Qianshan County-level City was established.

As of this time, Anqing City’s divisional layout of three districts, two county-level cities, and five counties has been completely formed, with a total of 10 districts and counties under its jurisdiction. Of course, due to practical considerations of economic development, after entering the 21st century, Anqing City successively established several new districts such as Zhumeng New District, High-tech Zone, Economic Development Zone, Northern New District, and High-speed Railway New District. However, these areas belong to functional areas and are under special circumstances, so they are generally not included in the calculation.

There are many more stories about the zoning adjustments in various regions in our country. The author will talk to you slowly in future articles.