Chifeng

According to archeological studies, human occupation of the Chifeng area can be traced back at least ten thousand years, and Neolithic cultural history can be traced back nearly eight thousand years. Representative ruins and relics of Hongshan Culture, Grassland Bronze Culture, Liao eras have been discovered in Chifeng. The ruins of an ancient village, named Xinglongwa, and the biggest jade dragon unearthed in the area are noted as "the first village" and "the first dragon" by some. The discovery of ruins and relics of ancient cultures have come from more than 6,800 sites. Named after Chifeng's Hongshan District, Hongshan Culture was a Neolithic culture in northeastern China, whose sites have been found mainly in Chifeng, and dated from about 4700 to 2900 BC. The area surrounding Chifeng was the political center and home to the Liao capital Shangjing Linhuangfu. …

Chifeng is situated along the upper reaches of the Xiliao River. Within its area are the southwesternmost extension of the Greater Khingan, the Inner Mongolia Plateau as well as the Xiliao River Plain, and finally the northernmost extent of the Yan Mountains. Bordering prefecture-level divisions are Tongliao to the northeast, Chaoyang (Liaoning) to the southeast, Chengde (Hebei) to the south, and the Xilingol League and to the west. From north to south Chifeng City stretches 457.5 km (284.3 mi), while from east to west it stretches 375 km (233 mi). Elevations decrease from a high of 2,067 m (6,781 ft) in the west to less than 300 m (980 ft) in the east. Chifeng has a four-season, monsoon-influenced, continental semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk), with long, cold, windy, but dry winters, and hot, humid summers. Monthly mean temperatures range from −10.4 °C (13.3 °F) in January to 23. …

During the period of "the 10th Five-Year Plan", Chifeng conducted the strategy of "found the municipality by ecology, strengthen the municipality by industry, prosper the municipality by science and education", by strengthening the development of resources, and seizing the historic opportunity of Western Development. Following the strategy, Chifeng began tightening up ecological and infrastructure construction, actively promoting the process of agricultural and animal husbandry industrialization, industrialization and urbanization, greatly encouraging the development of service industry and county-level economy, trying to expand the general economy volume, increasing industry level, and enhancing the core competition. As a result, the social economy development quickly. …