Chahar (province)

Chahar (Цахар, 察哈爾 Cháhār), also known as Chaha'er, Chakhar, or Qahar, was a province of China in existence from 1912 to 1936, mostly covering the territory of what is now Inner Mongolia. It was named after the Chahar Mongolians.

* Abbreviation: 察
* Capital: Zhangjiakou Subprefecture (張家口廳 Zhāngjiākǒu Tīng), also known as the Zhang Capital (張垣 Zhāng Yuān), and referred in some older Western literature as Kalgan (хаапга: Mongolian for gate). (Now Zhangjiakou City, Hebei)
* Chairman: Zhang Zizhong (張自忠)

Administration and history

Chahar is a tribal group of the Mongols.

In the Qing Empire, Chahar was not a province, but a Special Region called Zhangyuan (張垣特區), although Yao Xiguang (姚錫光) proposed making Chahar a province in his "A Humble Suggestion on Planning of Mongolia" (《籌蒙芻議》 Chóu Měng Chú Yì).

In 1913, the second year of the Republic of China, Chahar Special Administrative Region was created as a subdivision of Zhili (直隸) Province, containing 6 Banners and 11 counties:

* Zhāngbèi (張北)
* Duōlún (多倫)
* Gǔyuán (沽源)
* Shāngdū (商都)
* Bǎochāng (寶昌)
* Kāngbǎo (康保)
* Xīnghé (興和)
* Táolín (陶林)
* Jíníng (集寧)
* Fēngzhèn (豐鎮)
* Liángchéng (涼城)

In 1928, it became a province. The last five counties on the above list (starting from Xinghe) were partitioned to Suiyuan. And 10 counties were included from Xuanhua Subprefecture (宣化府), Koubei Circuit (口北道), Hebei Province:
* Xuānhuà (宣化)
* Chìchéng (赤城)
* Wànquán (萬全)
* Huáilái (懷來)
* Wèi (蔚)
* Yángyuán (陽原)
* Lóngguān (龍關)
* Yánqìng (延慶)
* Huái'ān (懷安)
* Zhuōlù (涿鹿)

All banners belong to the Shilingol Alliance (Шилийн гол чуулга, 锡林郭勒盟).

From 1937 to 1945, it was occupied by Japan and made a part of Mengjiang, a Japanese-controlled region led by Prince Demchugdongrub the Shilingol Alliance. The Chahar People's Anti-Japanese Army Alliance (察哈爾民眾抗日同盟軍) was established in Kalgan in May 26, 1933 by Feng Yuxiang (馮玉祥) and Ji Hongchang (吉鴻昌).

In 1952, six years after becoming communist, the province was abolished and divided into parts of Inner Mongolia, Beijing Municipality, and Hebei.

Geography

* Area: 278.957 km²

* North: Mongolia
* East: Rehe, Liaobei, Xing'an

In the middle of North Chahar, there stretches a desert into Mongolia.

Subdivision

Divided by the Great Wall, Chahar has two parts:

* South Chahar (察南)
* North Chahar (察北)