What were the earliest administrative divisions in ancient China? From the feudal states of the Western Zhou Dynasty, to the counties of the Qin Dynasty, and then to the prefectures, it was not until the Yuan Dynasty that the "provincial" system was vigorously promoted, and it has continued to this day.
Once many provinces have ceased to exist, such as Xikang Province, Jiangnan Province, etc., and once in the north there was a super province with an area of up to 170,000 square kilometers - Rehe Province!
However, such a super-large province existed for only more than twenty years before it was abolished. The reason is that the province is so poor that it is too poor to eat. In the end, it had to be broken down into three parts and completely disappeared into history.
In the third year of the Republic of China, in order to consolidate border defense, the government set up a strategic line in the north, which was the Rehe Special Area. Fourteen years later, the Rehe Special Zone was upgraded to Rehe Province, which is almost twice the size of Zhejiang Province and has a total population of more than 6 million. The territory stretches from north China to northeast China, and it is a place where the military must be contested.
Since then, Rehe Province has become the forefront of the War of Resistance Against Japan, leaving behind many anti-Japanese legends that can be sung and wept. However, beginning in 1955, the jurisdiction of Rehe Province was incorporated into Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, and Hebei.
Because this land is really barren and not suitable for grain farming, after liberation, life has become more and more tight. The grain harvested in a year is 330 million catties, but the expenditure is 480 million catties, even the most basic self-sufficiency is not reached, and it is in a state of serious overdraft, so rehe province has to be abolished and merged into other rich provinces.
I wonder if anyone still remembers Rehe Province?