Baoding

Baoding

Baoding (Chinese: 保定; pinyin: Bǎodìng), formerly known as Baozhou and Qingyuan, is a prefecture-level city in central Hebei province, approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) southwest of Beijing. As of the 2010 census, Baoding City had 11,194,382 inhabitants, of which 2,176,857 lived in the metropolitan area made of 4 out of 5 urban districts: Lianchi, Jingxiu, Qingyuan, and Mancheng all of which are largely conurbated.[1] Baoding is among 13 Chinese cities with a population of over 10 million, ranking seventh.[5] Zhuozhou City in the northern part has now grown into part of the Beijing metro area.[citation needed] Baoding has a history dating back to the Western Han Dynasty. It was destroyed by the Mongols in the 13th century, but after the Mongols established the Yuan Dynasty, it was rebuilt. It acquired the name "Baoding" during the Yuan dynasty — the name is roughly interpreted as "protecting the capital", referring to the city's proximity to Beijing. Baoding served for many years as the capital of Zhili and was a significant centre of culture in the Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty. On August 1, 1949, the People's Government of Hebei province was established, Baoding was the capital of the province, and the city of Baoding was a provincial municipality. On August 9, the administrative inspector's office of the Baoding district was established, and it was established as the administrative inspector's office of the county district.