Qianjiang District is a district in the southeastern part of Chongqing Municipality, People's Republic of China, bordering Hubei province to the east and northeast. While it is governed as a district, in practice Qianjiang is its own city proper far removed from the urban centre of Chongqing. The Miao and Tujia ethnic groups constitute 50.03% of the Qianjiang population, the other half being mostly Han. Qianjiang is nicknamed "The Throat of Sichuan and Hubei" because it sits on the intersection of Sichuan-Hubei and Sichuan-Hunan Roads. There used to be a large region called Qianjiang Prefecture containing the contemporary jurisdiction area of Qianjiang District.
History
Qianjiang District used to be a county under a now-abolished prefecture by the same name. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Qianjiang was administratively part of the Fuling District. In 585, Shicheng District was established as part of Yong Prefecture, with the district seat at today's Ba Village of Baxiang County. In 607, Yong Prefecture was replaced by Badong Commandery. In 618, Shicheng became part of Qian Prefecture, with district seat at Wuci Town and, in 630, Lienche Town. In 742, Shicheng was renamed Qianjiang and was part of An Commandry. From 960 to 1368, Qianjiang at this time was "half-barbarian" and dominated by the local rich bourgeois of the Gongs, Hus, Qins, and Xiangs according to the Qianjiang County Records of the Qing Dynasty. In 1285, Qianjiang was part of Ming Yuzhen's Daxia Empire. In 1372, it was part of Pengshui District. In 1378, 1216 soldiers were dispatched here to guard the place. In early Qing, Qianjiang District was under Chongqing Subprefecture. In 1912, Qianjiang County was under Liuxiang Fangqu. In 1935, it was under of the Eighth Administrative Region of Sichuan Province, also known as Youyang Special District. The county seat was at Sanduo Town. On November 12, 1949, Qianjiang came under CPC control, and the People's Government was established on November 25, as part of Chuandong Administrative Special District. The county seat changed to Lianhe Town. On January 23, 1950, it was under Youyang Special District, which also administered Youyang and Xiushan Counties. In September 1952, Youyang was merged into Fuling Special District. On November 14, 1983, the State Council approved to change the county status to a Tujia and Miao autonomous county: Qianjiang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County. The assembly was established November 13 of the following year. On May 18, 1988, the State Council halved Fuling, making Qianjiang County, as well as four other counties, into a new prefecture: Qianjiang Prefecture. The other four counties were:
The prefecture officially began in November. At this time the area was 16,900 km² with a population of 2,700,000. Qianjiang County, along with Qianjiang District, was incorporated into Chongqing Municipality in 1997. On March 17, 1997, the prefecture status was changed to a development area, which governs Shizhu, Xiushan, Qianjiang County, Pengshui and Youyang on behalf of Chongqing. On May 22, 1998, Qianjiang Development Area and Qianjiang Autonomous County were abolished. Qianjiang Autonomous County became Qianjing District, directly administered by Chongqing. Shizhu, Xiushan, Pengshui and Youyang remain autonomous counties, and are governed by Chonqging directly as well.
Transport
Qianjiang is located on the border between Chongqing Municipality and Hubei and Hunan provinces. The G65 Baotou–Maoming Expressway connects Qianjiang with the Chongqing city proper to the west and the city ofHuaihua to the southeast. On G65, the drive to Chongqing city proper could take more than four hours. China National Highway 319 also runs through Qianjiang. Qianjiang is served by the Qianjiang Wulingshan Airport, a regional airport with connections to Chongqing, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Kunming.
Administrative divisions
As of 2001, the district contains 3 sub-districts, 12 townships, 15 towns, and 489 village committees.
When still a county, Qianjiang had 5 towns, 45 townships, 8 neighborhood committees, and 517 village committees. Many townships were abolished, the only abolished town was Lianhe, the old county seat now separated into sub-districts.
