Zhangjiakou (), also known as Kalgan and by several other names, is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hebei province in Northern China, bordering Beijing to the southeast, Inner Mongolia to the north and west, and Shanxi to the southwest. In 2020, its population was 4,118,908 inhabitants, with an area of , divided into 17 counties and districts. The built-up (or metro) area, made of Qiaoxi, Qiaodong, Chongli, Xuanhua, Xiahuayuan Districts, is largely conurbated, with 1,413,861 inhabitants in 2020 in an area of . In 2024, the registered population of the whole region is 208.896 million.
Since ancient times, Zhangjiakou has been a stronghold of military significance and vied for by multiple sides, hence it is nicknamed the Northern Gate of Beijing. Due to its strategic position on several important transport arteries, it is a critical node for travel between Hebei and Inner Mongolia and connecting northwest China, Mongolia, and Beijing. Dajingmen, an important gate and junction of the Great Wall of China, is located here.
In the south, Zhangjiakou is largely cultivated for agricultural use. In the north, Bashang is a part of the Mongolian plateau and dominated by grasslands. The forest coverage reaches 37%, earning Zhangjiakou the title of National Forest City. According to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Zhangjiakou has the freshest air and the least PM 2.5 pollution of all Chinese cities north of the Yellow River. Zhangjiakou also possesses 4.6% of China's wind energy resources, and the city ranks second in solar energy use. Zhangjiakou was one of the host cities at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Names Zhangjiakou is the atonal pinyin romanization of the Chinese name written in traditional characters and in simplified ones, meaning "pass of the Zhang family". It is written in tonal pinyin and was formerly romanized as Chang-chia-k'ou in Wade–Giles and as Changchiakow in Postal Map romanization. The name is a clipping of Zhangjiakoubu (), "earthwork fortress of the Zhang family", named in honor of the Ming-era official Zhang Wen () who directed its construction from 1429. During China's Republican Era, the town was also known in Chinese as Zhangyuan (), "the Zhang Wall".
Until the mid-20th century, Zhangjiakou was more often known to Europeans as Kalgan from its classical Mongolian name (), meaning barrier or beam gate, but actually a shortened form of the full name (), "assembly" or "meeting gate" from its importance along Sino-Mongolian trade routes. The modern Mongolian forms of these names are () and (). The Manchu form of the name was ().
During the Ming dynasty, when the city was a major military outpost against the Northern Yuan, it was also known as Wucheng ), "Martial" or "War Town". Because of its strategic position above and northwest of Beijing, Zhangjiakou has been nicknamed "Beijing's Northern Door".
History Pre-Qin era
There are many paleolithic remains in sites like Nihewan, Xiaochangliang, and Maquangou located in Guyuan county, which indicated human activities dating back possibly 2 million years ago.
Around 2500 BC, the legendary ancestors of Chinese people, Huangdi, Yandi, and Chiyou used to live in the area of Zhuolu Town, and later fought the Battle of Zhuolu and Battle of Banquan, amalgamating different tribes into a single Huaxia tribe, thus beginning Chinese history.
During Spring and Autumn period, Xiongnu and Donghu people inhabited the northern area while Yan State (since around 11th century BC) and Dai state (since 7th century BC) occupied the southern area. In 475 BC, Dai was occupied by Zhao Wuxu of Zhao State. In 300 BC, King Wuling of Zhao established Dai Commandery, managing the area of ancient Dai state with its administrative center in Dai, currently Daiwangcheng, Yu County. During the same period of time, King Zhao of Yan sent General Qin Kai who was once captured by Donghu people and thus became familiar with their tactics to defeat Donghu. Following that, Yan State built Great Wall in its border extending from Zaoyang (currently northeast of Xuanhua) to Xiangping (currently north of Liaoyang). In 283 BC, King Zhao established Shanggu Commandery. In 265 BC, Li Mu, a famous general of Zhao, commanded and deployed troops in Dai to protect against Xiongnu. After arriving in Dai, initially Li Mu banned any counterattack against Xiongnu to preserve the strength for years, which however incurred the discontent of King of Zhao. As a result, Li Mu was sacked. Following Zhao troops' defeat later, King of Zhao reinstated Li Mu. Viewing Zhao troops as cowards, Xiongnu grew arrogant and underestimated Zhao's strength. Finally, Li Mu led troops and ambushed Xiongnu, causing hundreds of thousands of casualties and great damage of Xiongnu, thus ensuring decades of peace in Zhao's borderlands.
In 228 BC, Wang Jian, a Qin general defeated Zhao army and occupied its capital, Handan. Jia, a son of Zhao king, escaped to Dai, currently northeast of Yu County and declared himself as the King of Dai. In alliance with Xi, King of Yan, the combined army, commanded by Crown Prince Dan was defeated at Yishui. In 222 BC, Wang Ben, a Qin general defeated Yan state and then, attacked Dai. He captured Jia and ended Dai as a state. Jia feared humiliation and committed suicide.
Qin–Han era During the Qin dynasty, Shihuangdi sent Meng Tian, commanding 300,000 troops to defend his empire from Xiongnu's attacks. They spent 10 years connecting the Great Wall of Yan, Qin and Zhao, thus building Great Wall of Qin, the first Great Wall of 10,000 li, its 80-kilometer-long relics currently located in Batou (), or Erdaogou () in local slang, to the north of Zhangjiakou downtown area. The southern area of Zhangjiakou was under jurisdiction of Dai Commandery and Shanggu Commandery.
During the Han dynasty, most part of the area belonged to You Prefecture while some parts belonged to Wuhuan, Xiongnu and Xianbei. When Liu Bang established the Han dynasty, he granted Dai and the title of King of Dai to his brother Liu Zhong in 201 BC. One year later, Liu Zhong was defeated by Modu Chanyu of Xiongnu and escaped, thus demoted. In 196 BC, Chen Xi, the chancellor of Zhao, rebelled against the emperor and occupied more than 20 cities soon after. As a result, Liu Bang commanded an army in person from Luoyang. During the war, the empress launched a coup d'état and killed Han Xin, the most important general who helped establish the Han dynasty. With the help of Fan Kuai and Zhou Bo, Liu Bang defeated Chen Xi very soon. Following the rebellion, Liu Bang granted the title of King of Dai to his third son, Liu Heng, later Emperor Wen of Han.
Zhangjiakou was a major battleground during Han–Xiongnu War. In 127 BC, Xiongnu cavalry attacked Shanggu (currently Huailai), Yuyang. The Emperor Wu of Han launched a successful counterattack. In 124 BC, Xiongnu cavalry invaded Dai Commandery. Emperor Wu ordered Wei Qing commanding 100,000 troops to counterattack. Wei Qing left the Great Wall more than 600 to 700 kilometers, encircled Xiongnu's head, Youxianwang (). In 122 BC, 50,000 Xiongnu invaded Shanggu, killed hundreds of people. In next March, Huo Qubing commanded 10,000 cavalry to counterattack and achieved success. In 119 BC, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing each commanded 50,000 cavalry. Huo Qubing departed from Dai Commandery, marched 2000 li northward crossing Gobi desert. Finally, Han troops defeated Xiongnu under Yizhixie completely. Following the success, a new office, the Colonel-Protector of the Wuhuan (), was established in Shanggu in order to prevent contact between the Wuhuan with the Xiongnu and to use them to monitor the Xiongnu activities. In 106 BC, Emperor Wu of Han organized the Western Han dynasty into 13 province-sized prefectures, each administered by a cishi () or inspector, thus putting Shanggu and Dai under the jurisdiction of You Prefecture.
Following the Xin dynasty, Lu Fang () rebelled against Han but was defeated. Then, Emperor Guangwu of Han granted him the King of Dai. In 48 AD, the Eastern Han dynasty established Colonel-Protector of the Wuhuan in Ningcheng (), Shanggu (currently, Ningyuanbao Qiaodong District), representing Han's management of Wuhuan. Meanwhile, Han also opened Hu Market () to conduct regular exchanges with Wuhuan in Ningcheng. From 110 AD, Ningcheng also began to manage affairs with Xianbei.
Jin–Sui era In 274, Western Jin divided Shanggu Commandery and established Guangning Commandery () in Xialuo (, in the west of present Zhuolu), which was disestablished during Northern Qi.
During the period known as Sixteen Kingdoms in Chinese history when the northern China was repeatedly invaded and occupied various nomadic peoples from further north, Zhangjiakou area became part of Dai, Former Yan, ultimately ruled by Northern Wei of Xianbei. In 310, by helping Jin's Liu Kun, the governor of Bingzhou to fight Xiongnu state of Han Zhao, Tuoba Yilu, the supreme chieftain of the Tuoba, was appointed Duke of Dai by Western Jin and since 315, the King of Dai. In 376, Dai was conquered by Former Qin state.
Former Qin fell into disarray in 383 following its defeat by Jin forces at the Battle of Fei River. In 386, Tuoba Gui, the grandson of Tuoba Shiyiqian, the last King of Dai, took the opportunity to reestablish Dai and soon changed its name from Dai to Wei. Initially, Tuoba Gui was a vassal of Later Yan but claimed imperial title in 397 after defeating Murong Bao of Yan in Battle of Canhe Slope. Later, Tuoba Gui was given the title of Emperor Daowu of Northern Wei.
In 423, in order to defend itself from Rouran's invasions, Northern Wei built a Great Wall from Chicheng to the east and Wuyuan to the West, and established Huaihuang (, in present Zhangbei), Rouxuan (, in present Shangyi), Woye (, in present Wuyuan County, Inner Mongolia) as two of the Six Frontier Towns. Later on, Yuyi (, in present Chicheng and Guyuan ) was added. In 523, an uprising happened in Huaihuang, thus starting the Rebellion of Six Frontier Towns, an anti-Sinicization movement among northern peoples. In 525, Du Luozhou () led Shanggu Uprising, leading to many similar uprising to respond, including Gao Huan's. Next year, Du Luozhou broke through Juyong Pass and occupied You Prefecture.
Tang–Song era In 645, Taizong of Tang had a north march in Jiming Mountain () during his campaign against Xueyantuo. In 822, Tang established Longmen County () and Huai'an County (), thus the first appearance of Huai’an. In 866. Tang established Xinzhou (), the administrative center located to the west of Zhuolu. In 877, Li Keyong, the grandfather of Li Cunxu, later the emperor of Later Tang, was serving as the deputy commander of the Shatuo troops and stationed in Yuzhou, turning this place into his base for future struggles. In 899, Wuzhou () was established with its administrative center in Xuanhua. Meanwhile, Wende County () was established, the administrative center in present Xuanhua.