In the previous article, the author chatted with you a series of stories about various prefecture-level cities in Guizhou Province, such as Guiyang City. Today, the author talks to you about Zunyi City, the second largest city in Guizhou Province. Zunyi City is famous for its history, especially the history of red. Zunyi City has a total of 14 districts and counties under its jurisdiction, with a total population of more than 6.6 million, and its position in the province is very important. So, how did Zunyi City administer 14 districts and counties, and how were each district and county formed? Today, we're going to talk about that.
First of all, let's talk about the specific situation in Guizhou Province. Guizhou Province is one of the provinces in the southwest region of China, and the topographic structure is very complex. Due to the complex terrain and inconvenient transportation, for a long time, the local economic development was restricted. In recent years, with the overall improvement of railway and road traffic, the development of Guizhou Province has been very rapid. Especially in Guiyang, the provincial capital, the development in recent years is obvious to all. In total, Guizhou Province has jurisdiction over 6 prefecture-level cities and 3 autonomous prefectures, with a total of 9 prefecture-level divisions.
The total population of Guizhou Province is more than 38 million, which is basically the same as that of Shaanxi Province. Zunyi is one of the six prefecture-level cities in Guizhou Province and the second largest city in Guizhou Province. Since ancient times, Zunyi City has had the reputation of "Qianbei Granary". Zunyi City administers 3 districts, 2 county-level cities and 9 counties, with a total of 14 districts and counties. Zunyi has a total population of more than 6.6 million, and such a population base is not small in Guizhou Province. In 2020, the total GDP of Zunyi City reached more than 370 billion yuan.
In Guizhou Province, it is second only to the provincial capital Guiyang. In the southwestern provinces, such an economic aggregate is not low. As for the division of Guizhou Province, it has undergone several stages of change. During the reign of the Ming Dynasty, the two capitals and thirteen provinces were established. Among them, Guizhou Province was established, but Guizhou Province during the Ming Dynasty was very different from the current division. During the ming dynasty, Guizhou province was a remote area. For example, the famous Wang Yangming was once assigned to Guizhou Province.
In the mid-17th century, the Qing Dynasty eliminated the peasant rebels and Southern Ming forces in various places, and gradually established its rule over the whole country. Subsequently, the Qing Dynasty adjusted the divisions of the provinces according to its own needs, and eventually, the divisions of 18 provinces were formed. During the 61 years of the reign of the Kangxi Emperor, external threats in all aspects were basically eliminated. In 1722, after the death of the Kangxi Emperor, the 45-year-old Yongzheng Emperor came to power. The Yongzheng Emperor focused his main energy on the interior, such as the return of fire to the public, the return of land to the stream, and so on.
Among them, in order to promote the reform of land and return to the southwest, the Yongzheng Emperor appointed Ortai as the governor of the three provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and Guizhou. During Ortai's reign in the southwest, out of practical needs, in 1727, Zunyi Province, which was subordinate to Sichuan Province, was placed under the administration of Guizhou Province. At this point, Zunyi Province began to be under the jurisdiction of Guizhou Province. At that time, Zunyi Province had 1 prefecture and 4 counties under its jurisdiction, namely: Zheng'an Prefecture, Zunyi County, Tongzi County, Suiyang County, and Renhuai County.
In 1912, after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, China entered a complex stage of warlord melee. Due to the continuous warlord scuffle, coupled with the oppression of the warlords, it has caused serious damage to the economy of various parts of Guizhou. In 1935, the famous Zunyi Conference will forever go down in history. In the blink of an eye, in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, with the end of the large-scale war, China entered the stage of post-war reconstruction, resumption of production, development and construction. In Guizhou Province, a series of special zones have been set up, such as Zunyi Special District, Guiyang Special District and so on.
At first, Zunyi Prefecture administered 1 county-level city and 11 counties, namely: Zunyi County-level City, Zunyi County, Suiyang County, Zheng'an County, Daozhen County, Wuchuan County, Fenggang County, Meitan County, Renhuai County, Chishui County, Huangshui County, and Tongzi County. In 1955, in view of the economic status and important city of Zunyi, Zunyi was promoted to a prefecture-level city, standing side by side with Zunyi Special District. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was very common for prefecture-level cities to coexist with special districts, such as Suzhou and Suzhou Special District in Jiangsu Province, and Shenyang City and Shenyang Special District in Liaoning Province.
In 1956, Yuqing County of Zhenyuan Prefecture was placed under the administration of Zunyi Prefecture. In 1958, Zunyi City was demoted to a county-level city and was placed under the administration of Zunyi Special District. In the same year, Shifeng County in Anshun Prefecture was placed under the administration of Zunyi Prefecture. Due to some counties under the jurisdiction of Zunyi Special District, there are many strange characters. In 1959, Wuchuan County was renamed Wuchuan County, and Wushui County was renamed Xishui County. In 1963, Kaiyang County, under the jurisdiction of Guiyang City, was placed under the administration of Zunyi Special District.
At this time, Guiyang Special District had 1 county-level city and 14 counties under its jurisdiction. Due to the fact that there are too many counties under its jurisdiction, according to the level of transportation and communication in the 1950s and 1960s, there have been problems in various aspects. In 1965, Xifeng County and Kaiyang County under the jurisdiction of Zunyi Special District were placed under the administration of Anshun Special District. As for Zunyi Special District, it was adjusted to 1 county-level city and 12 counties, namely: Zunyi City, Zunyi County, Tongzi County, Suiyang County, Zheng'an County, Daozhen County, Wuchuan County, Fenggang County, Meitan County, Yuqing County, Renhuai County, Chishui County, and Xishui County.
In the late 1960s, after all the special districts in the country were renamed as regions, Zunyi special districts were renamed Zunyi districts, and the jurisdiction remained unchanged. At the end of the 1970s, China's economy began to develop at a sustained and high speed. In order to meet the needs of economic development, the areas under the jurisdiction of each province in China have been successively adjusted to prefecture-level cities. With the continuous development of Zunyi area, in the 1980s and 1990s, Chishui County and Renhuai County in Zunyi District were abolished and county-level cities were established.
In June 1997, Zunyi District was abolished and Zunyi Prefecture-level City was established. The original Zunyi county-level city was abolished and Honghuagang District was established. At this time, Zunyi City had 1 district, 2 county-level cities and 10 counties under its jurisdiction, namely: Honghuagang District, Zunyi County, Tongzi County, Suiyang County, Zheng'an County, Daozhen County, Wuchuan County, Fenggang County, Meitan County, Yuqing County, Xishui County, Chishui City, and Renhuai City. In 2003, with the development of Zunyi City, the urban area was further expanded and the urban population further increased.
In 2003, Zunyi City established Huichuan District, which has a total of 2 districts, 2 county-level cities and 10 counties under its jurisdiction. In 2016, Zunyi County, which is under the jurisdiction of Zunyi City, was abolished and Bozhou District was established. At this time, Zunyi City has 14 districts and counties under its jurisdiction, which have been completely formed. They are: Honghuagang District, Bozhou District, Huichuan District, Tongzi County, Suiyang County, Zheng'an County, Daozhen County, Wuchuan County, Fenggang County, Meitan County, Yuqing County, Xishui County, Chishui City, Renhuai City and so on.
Of course, after entering the 21 st century, the need to develop the economy, Zunyi City has set up several new districts such as high-tech zones and economic development zones. However, the situation in these new areas is special and generally will not be counted.
There are many more stories about the adjustment of the division of various regions in our country. In future articles, the author will talk to you slowly.