Taobei District 洮北区

Setting and landscape

The Tao'er River forms the boundary with Taonan (洮南市) to the west and south. Da'an (大安市) and Zhenlai County (镇赉县) lie to the east and northeast, and Horqin Right Front Banner (科尔沁右翼前旗) of Inner Mongolia to the north. The district government describes a continental monsoon climate with dry, windy springs and long, cold winters with little snow: the mean January temperature is −16.3°C, the mean July temperature 23.7°C, and annual rainfall averages 399.8 mm, most of it between June and August.

History

The Jilin local chronicles office places the seat of the Liao dynasty's Changchun prefecture (长春州) at the Chengsijiazi ancient city (城四家子古城) in Deshun Mongolian Ethnic Township (德顺蒙古族乡). It describes Changchun prefecture as a travelling residence of four Liao emperors and the dynasty's political centre in spring. The Jin kept the prefecture until 1150, re-established Taizhou (泰州) prefecture there in 1198, and the Yuan ran Taining (泰宁) from the same walled city.

In modern times, Jing'an County (靖安县) was created in 1904 under Taonan prefecture and renamed Tao'an (洮安县) in 1914. Tao'an station opened when the Taonan–Ang'angxi railway began running in July 1926, and the county was called Baicheng from 1938. The town of Baicheng became a county-level city in 1958; in August 1993, when Baicheng became a prefecture-level city, that city was abolished and replaced by Taobei District.

Highlights

• Chengsijiazi ancient city 城四家子古城: Walled site in Deshun Township identified by the Jilin chronicles office as the seat of Liao Changchun prefecture and Jin Taizhou.