Daxing District 大兴区

History

Daxing descends from Ji County (蓟县), a pre-Qin county set up by the state of Yan and named after the old city of Ji (蓟城). The Liao renamed it Jibei (蓟北县) in 938 and Xijin (析津县) in 1012, and under the Jin, in 1154, it took the name Daxing as the county attached to the Jin capital Zhongdu (中都). Under the Yuan it was the county attached to the capital Dadu (大都), and under the Ming and Qing it governed the city jointly with Wanping County (宛平县).

In June 1928 the county passed to Hebei and its seat moved from inside Beijing to Huangcun (黄村). It was transferred to Beijing in March 1958 and made a district, gaining Jiugong (旧宫), Yizhuang (亦庄) and Xihongmen (西红门) from the former Nanyuan District; it reverted to a county in 1960 and became a district again in 2001.

What to see

The Nanhaizi Milu Park Museum (南海子麋鹿苑博物馆) in Jiugong is an outdoor museum of about 900 mu (60 hectares) of wetland built around the Père David's deer, or milu (麋鹿). In 1985 the Marquess of Tavistock, owner of Woburn Abbey in England, decided to give milu to China, and Nanhaizi was chosen as the place of their return.

The China Printing Museum (中国印刷博物馆) at Huangcun traces the origin and development of Chinese printing; the district government describes it as the largest specialist printing museum in the world. Beijing Wildlife Park (北京野生动物园) at Yufa (榆垡) has a ten-kilometre drive-through area with seven animal zones, a predator area and a walking section. At Qianyechang village in Anding (安定镇), the Yulin Ancient Mulberry Garden (御林古桑园) is listed by the district as the largest ancient mulberry grove in North China; the oldest of its trees are more than 500 years old, and its mulberries were sent as tribute to the Ming and Qing courts.

Getting oriented

Daxing borders Tongzhou to the east, Fengtai and Chaoyang to the north, Fangshan across the Yongding River to the west, and Gu'an County (固安县) and Bazhou (霸州市) in Hebei to the south. The Beijing-Shanghai and Beijing-Kowloon railways and the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed line cross the district, and Yizhuang holds the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area. Beijing Daxing International Airport, on the boundary with Guangyang District of Langfang (廊坊), opened on 25 September 2019.

Highlights

• Nanhaizi Park 南海子公园: Nanhaizi was chosen in 1985 as the place where Père David's deer returned to China; the Milu Park Museum there covers about 900 mu.
• China Printing Museum 中国印刷博物馆: At Huangcun; described by the district as the world's largest specialist printing museum.
• Beijing Wildlife Park 北京野生动物园: At Yufa, with a 10-km drive-through area of seven animal zones.
• Beijing Daxing International Airport 北京大兴国际机场: Opened on 25 September 2019 on the Beijing-Langfang boundary.