Chahar Province


Chahar, also known as Chaha'er, Chakhar or Qahar, was a province of the Republic of China in existence from 1912 to 1936, mostly covering territory in what is part of Eastern Inner Mongolia. It was named after the Chahar Mongols.

Administration and history

Chahar Province is named after the Chahar, a tribal group of the Mongols who live in that area. The area was controlled by various empires that ruled over China's north including the Han, Tang, Liao, and Jin dynasties. After the unification of the Mongol tribes under Genghis Khan, the area came under Yuan rule. After the Yuan dynasty, the area was a battleground between the Ming dynasty and Northern Yuan. Then the Chahar tribe became the personal appanage of the monarchs of the Northern Yuan dynasty since the reign of Batumongke Dayan Khan. By the Qing dynasty, Chahar was a "Zhangyuan Special Region", although Yao Xiguang proposed making Chahar a province as early as 1908.

Republic of China era

In 1913, the second year of the Republic of China, Chahar Special Administrative Region was created as a subdivision of Zhili Province, containing 6 banners and 11 counties:
In 1928, it became a province. The last five counties on the above list were partitioned to Suiyuan province. And ten counties were included from Xuanhua Subprefecture, Koubei Circuit, Hebei Province:
All banners belong to the Shilingol League.
From 1937 to 1945, it was occupied by Japan and made a part of Mengjiang, a Japanese-controlled region led by Mongol Prince Demchugdongrub of the Shilingol Alliance. The Chahar People's Anti-Japanese Army Alliance was established in Kalgan on May 26, 1933 by Feng Yuxiang and Ji Hongchang.

1948–1952

In 1952, six years after becoming communist, the province was abolished and divided into parts of Inner Mongolia, Beijing Municipality and Hebei.
NameAdministrative SeatSimplified ChineseHanyu PinyinSubdivisions
ZhangjiakouZhangjiakou张家口市Zhāngjiākǒu Shìnone
DatongDatong大同市Dàtóng Shìnone
Yanbei DivisionDatong County雁北专区Yànběi Zhuānqū13 counties
Qanan DivisionXuanhua County察南专区Chánán Zhuānqū11 counties
Qabei DivisionZhangbei County察北专区Cháběi Zhuānqū9 counties

Geography

Chahar Province was divided north-south by the Great Wall, with North Chahar being the larger in area and South Chahar, with the capital, Zhangjiakou, being far larger in population. It had an area of. In North Chahar most of the land was part of the northeastern extension of the Gobi Desert.

Bordered