China is the world's most populous developing country, ranking third in the world in terms of land area, divided into 23 provincial-level administrative regions, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities directly under the central government and 2 special administrative regions. It seems that there are already many, but in fact, after the founding of New China, the central government has successively revoked 8 provinces, and these 8 provinces have since withdrawn from the stage of history.
The "three provinces" of Inner Mongolia have finally returned
It is not a simple matter to manage a country, let alone China, which has such a vast land area. After the founding of New China, in order to better plan the administrative region, 8 provinces have been cancelled successively, which of these 8 provinces are these?
First of all, let's talk about the most famous province, Rehe Province. Many people may not have heard of Rehe Province, but if you talk about his provincial capital, you will be familiar with it, that is, Chengde.
Chengde is famous for its summer resorts, located in the National Key Scenic Area, and was also included in the World Cultural Heritage List by UNESCO in 1994. Before it was incorporated into Hebei Province in 1955, it was the capital of Rehe Province.
Rehe Province was originally called the "Rehe Special Area" and was established by the government of the Republic of China in 1914. It was not officially renamed Rehe Province until September 1928, and it is one of the four northeastern provinces outside Guanwai.
It was occupied by the Japanese army during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and was classified as Manchukuo for 12 years. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Rehe Province was restored to its original administrative division.
On July 30, 1955, the Second Session of the First National People's Congress resolved to formally abolish Rehe Province. The reason for the revocation is also traceable, that is, to "restore the original appearance of Inner Mongolia in history."
This is because after the founding of New China, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has fully met the conditions for realizing unified national autonomy.
So why did the restoration of Inner Mongolia's divisions abolish Rehe Province? Of course, because the jurisdiction of Rehe Province includes the three counties of Ningcheng, Chifeng and Wudan, such as Ao Khan Banner, Qaraqin Banner and Weng NiuTe Mongolian Autonomous Banner, these districts and cities were officially included in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region after the abolition of Rehe Province.
The provinces of Chahar and Suiyuan, which share the "four northern provinces" of Rehe Province, have not escaped the fate of being revoked.
Chahar Province can be traced back to the Qing Dynasty, when it was called the Chahar Metropolitan Area, when it was established because the Kangxi Emperor migrated the Mongolian Chahar Department from the border of Western Liaoning to Xuanhua and Datong.
In 1928, it was officially established as Chahar Province. Its provincial capital at that time was Zhang Yuan, and everyone must not have heard of it, right? If you say that Zhangjiakou should have heard of it, right? Yes, Zhangyuan is the later Zhangjiakou City.
It was also occupied by the Japanese, but it was much luckier than Rehe and was successfully recovered in just a few months. However, in the end, Chahar Province was abolished due to its special geographical environment such as sparse population and lack of products, and the history of Chahar Province ended.
The history of Suiyuan Province also began with the Qing Dynasty, when Suiyuan was part of southern Mongolia, and because there was a Suiyuan garrison here, it was named Suiyuan.
It was only in 1928 that it was officially renamed Suiyuan Province. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Suiyuan Province underwent several planning and mergers, and finally was abolished in 1954 and merged into the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
The above three provinces were originally the three special districts divided in the Inner Mongolia region in the early years of the Republic of China, and finally returned to the original place.
Little-known "little transparent" provinces
The three provinces mentioned above that eventually returned to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region have a long history and were not small in fame at the time, but there are still four provinces that few people know.
Let's first talk about the four "small transparent" that seem slightly less "transparent". Liaodong Province and Liaoxi Province were established after liberation. The two provinces were established in 1949 and abolished simultaneously in 1954, and existed for as little as five years.
They were withdrawn for the simple reason that they did not correspond to the social development of the time. The reason why these "difficult brothers" are not so transparent is that they did not completely disappear after they were abolished, but merged into the "eldest son of the republic" - Liaoning Province. It can also be regarded as another form left in the long river of history.
Matsue Province is even less famous, but in fact, it was established in 1946, which is said to have a long history, but I don't know why it has so little information in history, or it may be because it has never experienced any major events, and it has not left a name. In 1954, it was officially revoked and incorporated into Heilongjiang Province.
As for this last Plain City, the situation is a bit special, because it was originally established by the Japanese army.
In March 1945, the Japanese army in the newly occupied area of Henan was divided into Pingyuan Province, and it was not until the founding of New China that the establishment of Pingyuan Province was officially recognized.
In 1954, the North China Affairs Department of the Central People's Government was officially abolished, and at the same time, Pingyuan Province was abolished, and its administrative area was divided into Shandong and Henan provinces. Pingyuan Province officially disappeared as the first province to be abolished in the adjustment of the administrative division of New China.
The only southern province that was abolished
The seven abolished provinces mentioned earlier all belong to the north, and the last thing we will talk about is the only southern province that has been revoked, Xikang Province. This was not a small province, and it was famous before liberation.
Xikang Province was officially established in 1939 and has existed for 16 years. But in fact, this name first appeared in the third year of Xuanun, that is, in 1911, because its location is Kangdi, and it is located in the west, from which the name Xikang is derived.
Although these 16 years may not seem like a long time, it has witnessed a lot of particularly important history.
Xikang Province is the main road from the interior to Tibet, which has important military and strategic significance. Since it is in such a position, Xi kang has certainly experienced the baptism of fire several times, it is brilliant, it is also romantic.
Why is it romantic? "Kangding Love Song" I believe everyone has heard, it is developed from the original Xikang folk song, and the capital of Xikang Province after the founding of New China is Kangding.
The lyrics of "Kangding Love Song" clearly express to us the freedom of marriage and love and the simple folk customs of the Khampa people at that time.
However, such a brilliant province is still inevitably eliminated by the times.
Because Xikang Province was originally established to balance Tibet and resist foreign enemies at the same time, after the founding of New China, the world was too peaceful, and it had no need to exist.
In 1955, Xikang Province was officially abolished, and the Jinsha River was incorporated into Sichuan Province and the Tibet Autonomous Region respectively.
The 8 provinces that were revoked believe that few people will know about it, and will not deliberately understand it. These provinces have all witnessed the development of history, although they have been revoked on the surface, but in fact they are still there, but in another way, witnessing the flow of the long river of history.