Tangshan ( zh, c=唐山 , p=Tángshān) is a coastal, industrial

prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province of China, province and above a Counties of the People's Republic of China, county in China's ...

in the northeast of

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

province. It is located in the eastern part of Hebei Province and the northeastern part of the North China Plain. It is located in the central area of the Bohai Rim and serves as the main traffic corridor to the Northeast. The city faces the

Bohai Sea The Bohai Sea ( zh, c=渤海, p=Bó Hǎi, l=Bo Sea) is a gulf/inland sea approximately in area on the east coast of Mainland China. It is the northwestern and innermost extension of the Yellow Sea, to which it connects via the Bohai Strait. It ...

in the south, the

Yan Mountains The Yan Mountains, also known by their Chinese name Yanshan, are a major mountain range to the north of the North China Plain, principally in the province of Hebei. The range rises between the Chaobai River on the west and the Shanhai Pass on ...

in the north, Qinhuangdao across the Luan River to the east, and

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

to the west. Much of the city's development is thanks to the industrialization, beginning in 1870, when Kailuan Group established coal mines in the region. It is the birthplace of China's first standard-gauge railway, the first railway plant, the first

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

, and the first cement factory. It was hailed as China's "cradle of industrialization". Even today, Tangshan is a hub of steel, energy,

chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

, and ceramics production. Ping opera, which originated from the city's

Luanzhou Luanzhou (), formerly Luan County (), is a county-level city in the east of Hebei province, China. It is under the administration of Tangshan city. The city spans an area of about , and, as of 2024, has a population of 518,900. The city's economy i ...

county, is one of the five most popular Chinese operas. The city has also become known for an earthquake in 1976 which measured 7.8 on the

Richter scale The Richter scale (), also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale, is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Richter in collaboration with Beno Gutenberg, and pr ...

. It flattened much of the city and killed at least 255,000 residents according to official estimates. The city has since been rebuilt, has become a tourist attraction, and is among the 10 largest ports in China. The city of Tangshan is approximately east by south east of Beijing and northwest of

. Tangshan's prefecture population was 7,717,983 at the 2020 census, with 3,687,607 in the built-up (''or metro'') area made of the 7 urban core districts.

Etymology

Tangshan is named after Dacheng Hill (), which was formerly called Mount Tang (唐山) and is located in the middle of the city. In A.D. 645, Li Shimin, an emperor of

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

, with his army, was stationed at Dacheng Hill on his way back from the

Korean Peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...

. Unfortunately, Caofei, his beloved concubine, died there. In order to commemorate her, he named the mountain after the name of the empire, Tang. Later, the city took the name of the mountain.

History

Early history

Tangshan has a long history, with ancient humans living in the area as early as 4,000 years ago. It fell within the territory of the Guzhu Kingdom (1600BC) at the time of the

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou d ...

and later became a part of the

State of Yan Yan (; Old Chinese pronunciation: ''*'') was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Its capital was Ji (later known as Yanjing and now Beijing). During the Warring States period, the court was also moved to another capital at Xia ...

, one of the seven Warring States (403221BC). During the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

(206BC220AD) it became part of the ancient province of Youzhou. It was under the jurisdiction of Zhili province and Zunhua State successively during the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

Tang, Ming and Qing dynasties

Tangshan was a village at the time of the

(619907) and developed further in agriculture, oil exploitation and ceramics during the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

(13681644). During the Hundred Days' Reform in the late Qing dynasty, the Kaiping Mining Administration was established in the third year of the

Guangxu Emperor The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), also known by his temple name Emperor Dezong of Qing, personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China ...

(1877). In 1878, Qiaotun town was established at Tangshan and renamed Tangshan Town in 1889. In 1938, Tangshan City was formally founded. The administrative system of Tangshan during the Republic of China Republican era continued to follow the Qing system. In 1929, Zhili Province changed its name to Hebei Province. On January28, 1939, because of Tangshan's special economic and political position, the East Hebei Autonomous Government established Tangshan City which was initially called “Tangshan Municipal Government” and later changed to “Tangshan Municipal Office”. After Japan surrendered in 1945, the Chinese Nationalist Party in Peking (now known as

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

) took over the political control of Tangshan from Japan and set up an Administration Inspectors Office. In April 1946, it was decided at the 132nd Meeting of the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

Hebei Provincial Committee to set up Tangshan City and on May5 of the same year, the Tangshan Municipal government was founded.

People's Republic

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China on October1, 1949, Tangshan remained a provincially administered municipality with 12 areas under its jurisdiction. In March 1955, it was decided at the 2nd session of the first People's Congress of Tangshan City to change Tangshan Municipal people's government to Tangshan people's committee without changing its administration areas. On April28, 1958, the State Council approved the establishment of Tangshan prefecture. On August29, 1958, it was decided at the Seventh Session of the first People's Congress of Hebei Province to move the Tangshan Commissioner Office from Changli County to Tangshan City. The CPC Central Committee decided to designate Tangshan city as one of the 45 cities open to the world on June3, 1959. On June 8, 1959, the CPC Hebei Provincial Committee and the Hebei Provincial People's Congress decided to combine the Tangshan Commissioners Office and the Tangshan People's Committee into the Tangshan People's Committee. On April2, 1960, the State Council officially approved the abolition of Tangshan prefecture. Qinhuangdao city, Qian'an, Changli, Laoting, Baodi, Yutian, Jixian County and Zunhua which were formerly administered by Tangshan Prefecture were incorporated into the Tangshan Municipality. Luanxian County, Fengrun County (formerly a district) and Baigezhuang Farm were also incorporated into Tangshan Municipality. Meanwhile, Tangshan became a provincially administered municipality. On May23, 1961, the State Council approved the reinstatement of Tangshan prefecture, which was adopted at the 14th Meeting of the Hebei Provincial People's Committee on June3, 1959. Tangshan prefecture and Tangshan municipality were separated again and Tangshan turned into a specially administered municipality. The Tangshan Municipal Revolutionary Committee affiliated to the Revolutionary Committee of Tangshan Region was set up on January6, 1968. On March 11, 1978, Tangshan turned to be a provincially administered municipality. In October 1982, it was decided at the Seventh People's Congress of Tangshan city to abolish the Tangshan Municipal Revolutionary Committee and set up the Tangshan Municipal People's Government. The State Council approved the move on March 3, 1983, and thereafter implemented the city-governing-county system. On May13, 1983, the Hebei Provincial People's Government announced the cancellation of the Civic Administration office of Tangshan region, which ceased operation on May15, 1983. On December15, 1984, the State Council approved Tangshan city as one of 13 national “comparatively big” cities.

1976 Tangshan earthquake

Tangshan suffered an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

of magnitude 7.8 (7.5 according to official reports) at 3:42am on July28, 1976, which resulted in many casualties. The official death toll was 255,000, but many experts believe that the actual number of fatalities was two to three times that number, making it the most destructive earthquake in modern history during the 20th century. As a result of the earthquake, most of the town had to be rebuilt. The earthquake was depicted in the 2010 movie '' Aftershock''.

Geography

Tangshan is located in the central section of the Bohai Economic Rim, facing the

to the south. Lying on the

North China Plain The North China Plain () is a large-scale downfaulted rift basin formed in the late Paleogene and Neogene and then modified by the deposits of the Yellow River. It is the largest alluvial plain of China. The plain is bordered to the north by th ...

, Tangshan is adjacent to the

to the north, borders the Luan River and Qinhuangdao to the east, and to the west and southwest borders

. Because of its location in the northeast of Hebei, it is a strategic area and a corridor linking two China's

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and northeast regions. The largest river in the prefecture is the Luan River.

Climate

Tangshan has a

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

-influenced,

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dwa''), with cold and very dry winters, and hot, rainy summers. Spring and autumn are short with some rainfall. The monthly 24-hour average temperature in January is , and in July, and the annual mean is . Close to 60% of the annual precipitation of falls in July and August alone. The frost-free period lasts 180−190 days, and the area receives 2,600−2,900 hours of sunshine annually.

Air pollution

air pollution in China Pollution in China is one aspect of the broader topic of environmental issues in China. Various forms of pollution have increased following the industrialisation of China, causing widespread environmental and health problems. Jared Diamond, '' ...

has worsened in recent years, reports suggest cities in Hebei among the most polluted in the country, with Tangshan being no exception. According to a survey made by "Global voices China" in February 2013, 7 cities in Hebei including Xingtai,

Shijiazhuang Shijiazhuang; Mandarin: ; formerly known as Shimen and romanized as Shihkiachwang is the capital and most populous city of China's Hebei Province. A prefecture-level city southwest of Beijing, it administers eight districts, three county-le ...

Baoding Baoding is a prefecture-level city in central Hebei province, approximately southwest of Beijing. As of the 2020 census, Baoding City had 11,544,036 inhabitants, of which 2,549,787 lived in the metropolitan area made of 4 out of 5 urban distri ...

Handan Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shando ...

, Langfang, Hengshui and Tangshan, are among China's 10 most polluted cities.

Economy

Tangshan is an important heavy industrial city in North China. Its output include machinery, motor vehicles, chemicals, textiles, glass, petroleum products, and cement. It has been a coal-mining center since late

, as Guangdong merchant Tong King-sing opened the first

coal mine Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

using modern techniques in Kaiping in 1877. Since the construction of the Caofeidian Project, it has hosted large iron and steel plants, chemical projects, and electricity plants. It is China's largest steel-producing city. Tangshan is also called the "porcelain capital of North China." Modern industry in China first arose in Tangshan. The second railway in Chinaafter the abortive Woosung Railway in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

was the six-mile track laid between Hsukochuang and Tangshan which opened in 1881; this eventually grew into the Imperial Railroad of North China and China's modern Jingshan and Jingha Railways. The first fire-resistant material manufactory and the first and largest

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

manufactory were constructed in Tangshan as well. Tangshan has experienced near-constant GDP growth in recent years, but has slowed down in the latter-half of the 2010s. In 2008, the GDP of Tangshan was ¥353.747 billion, which nearly doubled to ¥612.121 billion by 2013, and grew further to ¥695.500 billion in 2018. Tangshan's GDP was ranked the 26th largest among Chinese cities according to data from 2017. The city's exports were valued at $7.109 billion in 2016. Government figures for 2017 show that the city's economy was largely dominated by the secondary industry, contributing ¥408.14 billion to the city's economy.

Industrial zone

* Caofeidian New Zone.

Demographics

Government data from 2017 shows that 7.897 million people live in Tangshan, of which, 61.64% live in an urban area. The city's residents had a mean

disposable income Disposable income is total personal income minus current taxes on income. In national accounting, personal income minus personal current taxes equals disposable personal income or household disposable income. Subtracting personal outlays ( ...

of ¥27,786, which was ¥36,415 among urban residents.

Ethnic composition

Tangshan, like many other locations in China, is largely

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

, who account for 95.25% of the city's population. In Zunhua City, there are 3 ethnic townships and ethnic towns. The following table shows the city's ethnic breakdown:

Administration

The

of Tangshan administers 14 county-level divisions including 7

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

, 4

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

and 3

county-level cities , map = , category = Third level administrative division of a unitary state , territory = People's Republic of China , upper_unit = Prefectures, Provinces , start_date = , current_number = 411 (408 controlled, 3 claimed) , number_da ...

Education

Universities and colleges

*North China University of Science and Technology (formerly named Hebei United University), which was co-established by Hebei Polytechnic University and North China Coal Medical College in May 2010 *Tangshan Normal University *Tangshan College * Hebei University of Science and Technology Tangshan Branch

High schools

* Tangshan No.1 high school (founded 1902), one of the most famous high schools in China * Hebei Tangshan Foreign Language School

Culture

Food

*Diet **Wanlixiang roast chicken () ** Chessboard pancake () **Honey sugar candy () **Peanut crisp () **Big gezhe () **Small gezhe () *Dried fruits ** Chinese chestnut () **

Walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...

Traditional arts

* Ping opera, or Pingju, one of the most popular operas in China *Tangshan Shadow Play () * Laoting drums ()

Tourism

* Eastern Qing tombs * Anti-Seismic Monument, located in Anti-Seismic Square * Tangshan Nanhu Park ( Lunan District) * Kailuan National Mine Park ( Lunan District) * Tangshan science and Technology Museum ( Lubei District)

Religion

*Datang Xingguo Chan Temple ( zh, labels=no, t=大唐興國禪寺), a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

temple * Jingzhong Mountain, a joint religious shrine for the believers of

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...

, Buddhism, and

Taoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

, respectively. *Two Christian churches.

Transport

As of 2017, Tangshan has 18,000 kilometers of roads, of which, 16,000 were in rural areas. The city's roads served 410 million tons of freight, and the city's port served 570 million tons. As of 2023, Tangshan is the largest city in China without an operating or planned metro system.

Air

* Tangshan Sannühe Airport, from the city center, in Fengrun District

Rail

* Beijing–Harbin Railway * Tianjin–Shanhaiguan Railway * Beijing-Qinhuangdao Railway * Tianjin-Shanxi Railway

Roads

* China National Highway 102, in the south of Fengrun District * China National Highway 112, ring road encircling Beijing, traversing the west side of Tangshan's urban area * China National Highway 205, which runs along the eastern and southern front of the urban area * G1 Beijing–Harbin Expressway, on the northern side of the urban area * G25 Changchun–Shenzhen Expressway, on the western side of the urban area

Notable people

* Li Dazhao - early founder and leader of Chinese Communist Party * Jiang Wen - a contemporary director and actor * Cao Xueqin - author of Dream of the Red Chamber * Liu Wenjin - classical Chinese music composer * Zhang Tielin - Chinese-born British actor * Zhao Lijian - Chinese spokesman of the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

* Gao Yuanyuan - Chinese actress and model * Tseng Cheng - businessman and philanthropist * Wu Guiying - Chinese Communist Party Secretary of

Changsha Changsha is the capital of Hunan, China. It is the 15th most populous city in China with a population of 10,513,100, the Central China#Cities with urban area over one million in population, third-most populous city in Central China, and the ...

* Zhang Xudong - General of the PLA and former commander of the Western Theater Command * Fu Zhenghua - Former politician and Minister of Justice

References

External links

Official website of Tangshan Government
{{Authority control Cities in Hebei Prefecture-level divisions of Hebei Populated places destroyed by earthquakes