North China

For other uses, seeNorth China (disambiguation).

North China(Hoa Bắc) is ageographical regionofChina,consisting of two direct-administered municipalities (BeijingandTianjin), two provinces (HebeiandShanxi), and one autonomous region (Inner Mongolia).

North China
North People's Republic ofChinaregion
Country	People's Republic of China
Area
• Total	2,185,105 km2(843,674 sq mi)
Population
• Total	164,823,136
• Density	75/km2(200/sq mi)
GDP	2022
- Total	¥14.909 trillion ($2.217 trillion)
- Per Capita	¥90,457 ($13,449)

Northern China (a much broader area named Beifang)

Part of the larger region ofNorthern China(Beifang), it lies north of theQinling–Huaihe Line,with its heartland in theNorth China Plain.

In modern times, the area has shifted in terms of socio-political and economic composition. Nowadays unique, embracing a North Chinese culture, it is influenced byMarxism,Sovietsystems of industry while preserving a traditional Chinese indigenous culture. Agriculturally, the region cultivateswheat.

Most inhabitants here speak variants of Northern Chinese languages such asMandarin,which includesBeijing dialectand its cousin variants. The Beijing dialect is largely the basis ofStandard Chinese(or Standard Mandarin), the official language of the People's Republic of China (PRC).Jin ChineseandMongolianare also widely spoken due to the political and cultural history of the area.

History

In prehistory, the region was home to theYangshaoandLongshan cultures.Peking manwas found near modern-day Beijing.

The main agricultural lands of China lay in the area known as theCentral Plain,an area located bordered by theYangtzeriver to its south and theYellow Riverto its north. Further north of the Yellow River lies theGobi desertand steppe lands that extend west acrossEurasia.This region has long, harsh winters. It has relatively little in the way of water resources.

Despite these challenges, some forms of agriculture have been successful in this region, especiallyanimal husbandry,certainly of horse and camel, and possibly other types of animals. The cropsPanicum miliaceumandSetaria italica,both types ofmilletgrain, are believed to be indigenous to northern China.Panicum miliaceumis known from theCishan cultureinHebei province,recovered asphytolithsfrom pits instratigraphicsections.Sedimentsfrom the pits have radiocarbon dates from 8500 to 7500 BCE. Archaeological evidence of charred grains found in earlyHolocenelayers in Hebei province atNanzhuangtouand Cishan has led scholars to revise the earliest dates associated with millet by about two millennia. Millet sites are concentrated along the boundaries of theLoessandMongolian Plateau,separated by a mountain chain from theHuabei plainand theDongbei plain,North China's mainalluvial plains,located to the west. Millet cultivation was similarly situated relative to theQinling mountainsat Dadiwan, and theYitai mountainsatYuezhuang.Macrofossil evidence (charred grains of foxtail and broomcorn millet) has been recovered fromXinglonggouinInner Mongolia,XinleinLiaoning,Cishan in Hebei, andDadiwaninGansu,among other sites in Eastern and Central China.

Administrative divisions in the PRC

GB	ISO №	Province	Chinese Name	Capital	Population¹	Density²	Area³	Abbreviation/Symbol
Jīng	11	Beijing Municipality	Thành phố Bắc Kinh Běijīng Shì	Beijing	19,612,368	1,167.40	16,800	BJ	Kinh
Jīn	12	Tianjin Municipality	Thiên Tân thị Tiānjīn Shì	Tianjin	12,938,224	1,144.46	11,305	TJ	Tân
Jì	13	Hebei Province	Tỉnh Hà Bắc Héběi Shěng	Shijiazhuang	71,854,202	382.81	187,700	HE	Ký
Jìn	14	Shanxi Province	Sơn Tây tỉnh Shānxī Shěng	Taiyuan	35,712,111	228.48	156,300	SX	Tấn
Měng (Nèi Měnggǔ)	15	Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Nei Mongol Autonomous Region	Nội Mông Cổ khu tự trị Nèi Měnggǔ Zìzhìqū	Hohhot	24,706,321	20.88	1,183,000	NM	Mông ( nội Mông Cổ )

Cities with urban area over one million in population

Provincial capitals inbold.

#	City	Urban area	District area	City proper	Prov.	Census date
1	Beijing	16,446,857	18,827,262	19,612,368	BJ	2010-11-01
2	Tianjin	9,562,255	11,090,783	12,938,693	TJ	2010-11-01
3	Taiyuan	3,154,157	3,426,519	4,201,592	SX	2010-11-01
4	Shijiazhuang	2,770,344	2,834,942	10,163,788	HE	2010-11-01
5	Tangshan	2,128,191	3,187,171	7,577,289	HE	2010-11-01
6	Baotou	1,900,373	2,096,851	2,650,364	NM	2010-11-01
7	Hohhot	1,497,110	1,980,774	2,866,615	NM	2010-11-01
8	Datong	1,362,314	1,737,514	3,318,054	SX	2010-11-01
9	Handan	1,316,674	1,445,338	9,174,683	HE	2010-11-01
10	Baoding	1,038,195	1,138,521	11,194,382	HE	2010-11-01

See also

• Northern China
  • North China Plain
  • Inner Mongolia
  • Northeast China
  • Northwest China
• East China