View source for Xing'an Province

{{Short description|Former province of China}}
{{Infobox former subdivision
| native_name            = {{nobold|{{lang|zh|興安省}}}}
| conventional_long_name = Hsingan Province
| common_name            = Hsingan
| subdivision            = 
| nation                 = Republic of China
| status_text            = [[List of administrative divisions of Manchukuo|Province]] of the [[Manchukuo]] (1932–1945)<br>[[History of the administrative divisions of China (1912–1949)|Province]] of the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] (1945–1949)
<!-- General information -->| life_span              = 1932–1949
| capital                = [[Hailar District|Hailar]]
| today                  = [[China]]<br /> '''∟''' [[Inner Mongolia]]
<!-- Rise and fall, events, years and dates -->
<!-- Only fill in the start/end event entry if a specific article exists. Don't just say "abolition" or "declaration". -->| date_pre               = 
| event_pre              = 
| year_start             = 1932
| year_end               = 1949
| event_start            = <!-- Default: "Established" -->
| date_start             = 
| image_map              = ROC Div Xingan.svg
| image_map_caption      = Map of Hsingan within the ROC
| image_map2              = 
| image_map2_caption      = 

<!-- Flag navigation: Preceding and succeeding entities "p1" to "p5" and "s1" to "s8" -->
| p1                     = Mongolia under Qing rule{{!}}Inner Mongolia under Qing rule
| flag_p1                = 
| p2                     = 
| s1                     = Inner Mongolia
| stat_year1             = 1947
| stat_area1             = 278,437
| stat_pop1              = 322,173
}}
'''Xing'an''' ({{zh|t=興安省|p=Xīng'ān shěng}}; or '''Hsingan''') refers to a former province, which once occupied western [[Heilongjiang]] and part of northwest [[Jilin]] provinces of China. The name is related to that of the [[Greater Khingan]] Mountains. Another name used for this land was '''Barga''', which is also the name used for the western part of the province, the Barga district.

==Administration==
The capital of Xing'an was the town of [[Hailar, China|Hailar]] (or Hulun), on the [[China Eastern Railway]] line near the [[Russia]]n border. Xing'an was divided into various sub-prefectures, similar in form to other Manchukuo provinces. The second city of importance was [[Manzhouli]].

== History ==

Xing'an province was first created in 1932 as an administrative sub-division of the Japanese-controlled Empire of [[Manchukuo]]. From 1939 to 1943, the province was divided into four parts, labeled '''Xing'an North''', '''Xing'an East''', '''Xing'an South''' and '''Xing'an West'''. These four provinces were reunited into a '''Xing'an Consolidated Province''' (興安総省) in 1943. Xing'an at {{convert|148000|sqmi|km2|order=flip|abbr=off}} encompassed nearly one third of the land area of Manchukuo.

The population of Xing'an, estimated at 965,000 in 1935, was predominantly ethnically [[Mongol]], and Xing'an was therefore administered by a local Mongol prince (under supervision of a Japanese [[Resident Commissioner|resident]] supervisor).

Xing'an was the site of a number of clashes in the [[Soviet-Japanese Border Wars]], most notably the [[Nomonhan Incident]] where Japanese [[Kwantung Army]] and [[Manchukuo Imperial Army]] forces were defeated by the [[Soviet Red Army]] in 1939.

After the annexation of Manchukuo by the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] after the end of [[World War II]], the [[Kuomintang]] continued to recognize the area as Xing'an Province, with the capital in [[Hailar, China|Hailar]]. However, under the administration of the [[People's Republic of China]] from 1949, the area was annexed to the [[Inner Mongolia|Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region]], and is now referred to as the [[Hulunbuir]] [[Prefecture-level city]]. The population is now estimated to be over 80% ethnic [[Han Chinese]].

==Economy==
Under the Manchukuo period, Xing'an was primarily an agricultural area, with food grains, particularly wheat, soy and corn, as well as cattle, sheep, horse and other livestock. The primary economic asset of Xing'an was its extensive [[coal]] deposits, primarily at Chalai Nor hill, 25 kilometers from the frontier station of [[Manzhouli]], where 290,000 metric tonnes were extracted annually. Xing'an was also a trade zone between Manchukuo, the [[Soviet Union]], and Soviet-dominated [[Mongolia]].

==See also==
*{{section link|Inner Mongolia#Administrative divisions}}
*[[Hinggan League]]

==References==
The Mongols of Manchuria: Their Tribal Divisions, Geographical Distribution, Historical Relations with Manchus and Chinese, and Present Political Problems. by Owen Lattimore　Pacific Affairs, Vol. 8, No. 3 (Sep., 1935), pp.&nbsp;367–371

== External links ==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927215526/http://www.kikokusha-center.or.jp/joho/mihanmei/koan_higashi/koan-higashi.jpg Map of Eastern Xingan province of Manchukuo]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927215434/http://www.kikokusha-center.or.jp/joho/mihanmei/koan_nishi/koan-nishi.jpg Map of Western Xingan province of Manchukuo]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927215418/http://www.kikokusha-center.or.jp/joho/mihanmei/koan_kita/koan-kita.jpg Map of Northern Xingan province of Manchukuo]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927215356/http://www.kikokusha-center.or.jp/joho/mihanmei/koan_minami/koan-minami.jpg Map of Southern Xingan province of Manchukuo]

{{Defunct Chinese provinces}}
{{Suspended ROC provinces}}
{{Authority control}}
{{coord missing|Inner Mongolia}}

[[Category:Provinces of the Republic of China (1912–1949)]]
[[Category:Geography of Inner Mongolia]]
[[Category:History of Inner Mongolia]]
[[Category:Subdivisions of Manchukuo]]