1. Beijing 北京
Land area: 16,800 km2
Population: 19,612,368
Topography
Beijing is the capital of the People’s Republic of China and the nation’s political, cultural, and educational center. It is one of the four municipalities under the direct control of the central government, meaning that it is a province-level administrative division. The municipality includes 16 districts with a total population of 19 million people. Located on the North China Plain, Beijing is surrounded by Hebei Province, with a small part of the city bordering Tianjin City in the southeast (Map 14). The city proper has a low and flat terrain with an elevation generally 40–60 meters above sea level and is buffered on the northwest by the Jundu Mountains 军都山, which cover Yanqing District 延庆区 and Huairou District 怀柔区, and on the west by the Xi Mountains 西山. Beijing has humid and hot summers and cold and dry winters; its average daily temperature varies from −3.7°C in January to 26.2°C in July.
Beijing has long been a trading hub in China. The city is the northern terminus of both the Grand Canal 京杭大运河, which leads to Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province, and the South–North Water Transfer Project, which brings water from the Yangtze River basin. The recent economic boom in China has transformed this municipality into one of the most developed cities in the world. This transformation is best symbolized by the concentration of corporate headquarters and high-end shopping precincts in eastern Beijing. The electronics and computer-related industries of Beijing have also grown rapidly in the past decades. Zhongguancun 中关村 in Haidian 海淀 is known as China’s Silicon Valley.
Demography
Beijing’s population density is very high (Maps 15–16). On average, there were 4,275 residents per square kilometer in 2010. The population is not evenly distributed, however, most people live in the central part of the city or in the districts that immediately surround the heart of the city, such as Xicheng District 西城, Dongcheng District 东城, Haidian District 海淀, and Chaoyang District 朝阳. Yanqing District and Huairou District are less populous. The total population rose 45 percent between 2000 and 2010, from 13,569,194 to 19,612,368. Immigrants mostly reside in the districts surrounding Central Beijing; Dongcheng and Xicheng have fewer immigrants (Maps 17–18).
There have been significant changes in education and urbanization. The percentage of people holding college degrees increased significantly, rising from 12.5 percent in 2000 to 26.9 percent in 2010. The proportion of urban residents increased from 66.9 percent in 2000 to 80 percent in 2010. The proportion of people over 60 years old increased slightly from 12.9 to 13.8 percent between 2000 and 2010. The central part of Beijing, Xicheng and Dongcheng, has a somewhat larger proportion of residents over 60, about 16.8 percent, while in districts like Changping 昌平 and Daxing 大兴 the proportion is lower, about 9.5 percent. There has been a corresponding decrease in the percentage of younger people between ages 15 and 34, from 49.9 percent in 2000 to 45.5 percent in 2010. The percentage of one-generation households increased from 29.6 percent in 2000 to 46.8 percent in 2010. The average family size has shrunk from 2.9 persons to 2.5 over the same period.
Key Religious Facts
The 2004 Economic Census recorded very few religious sites in Beijing. The reasons for this conspicuous underreporting of sites remain unclear. We made some effort to collect information on additional religious venues in order to produce Map 19 and Figure 9. In fact, Beijing has a great variety of religions, including Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, and Daoism. Four of the five national associations are headquartered in Beijing (the headquarters of the Protestant TSPM is in Shanghai). The same four religions also have their top-level educational institutions in Beijing: the Buddhist Academy of China (Zhongguo foxueyuan 中国佛学院), the Daoist Academy of China (Zhongguo daojiaoxueyuan 中国道教学院), the China Islamic Institute (Zhongguo yisilanjiao jingxueyuan 中国伊斯兰教经学院), and the National Seminary of the Catholic Church in China (Zhongguo tianzhujiao shenzhe xueyuan 中国天主教神哲学院) (The top-level Protestant Nanjing Union Theological Seminary [Jinling xiehe shenxueyuan 金陵协和神学院] is in Nanjing).
Beijing: Distribution of religious sites by district.
Many of the temples, mosques, and churches in Beijing conduct regular religious events. Yonghe Temple 雍和宫, also known as the Yonghe Lamasery, is a temple and monastery of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The architecture and interior décor combine Han Chinese and Tibetan styles. The building originally served as an official residence for court eunuchs during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911); later it became an important center of Lama Buddhism in the capital and housed large numbers of monks from Tibet and Mongolia. Today it is both a functioning temple and a highly popular tourist attraction in the city. On the first day of the Spring Festival in 2016, it received over 70,000 visitors.1
There are many Buddhist temples and monasteries in Beijing Municipality, and many of them have had a long history and a close relationship with politics (Photo 13). In recent years, Longquan si 龙泉寺 (Dragon Spring Temple) in northwestern Beijing has attracted media attention for its large number of college-educated monks and for inventing and deploying a robot monk. The abbot Xuecheng 学诚 became the president of the Buddhist Association of China in 2015. He is known for his skillful use of social media (Sina Weibo) to spread Buddhist teachings. His postings are simultaneously translated into multiple languages. He also frequently travels abroad and has founded a number of temples in Europe.
A woman praying at Fayuan Temple (Beijing).
Credit: Akshay Mehta
Christianity in China’s capital city not only has historical significance but also appears prominently in contemporary international headlines. Beijing was the first place in China to be visited by Roman Catholic missionaries. An archdiocese was established in the city as early as 1307, but it dissolved when the Yuan Dynasty ended in 1368. Near the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), Matteo Ricci and other Jesuits conducted successful missions in Beijing and the surrounding areas. In 1690, during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), the Beijing diocese was re-established; it was promoted to a metropolitan archdiocese in 1946. In 2007, the Reverend Joseph Li Shan was appointed by the Chinese authorities as the bishop of Beijing diocese. The appointment was reported also in the official newspaper of the Vatican, signaling the pope’s implicit approval of the new bishop.2
Beijing is home to a number of large Protestant churches under the state-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee (TSPM) and the China Christian Council (CCC), including the well-known Haidian Church, Gangwasi Church, and Xuanwumen Church, all of which are megachurches with thousands of people in attendance each week. Meanwhile, there have been many house churches, which are unregistered Protestant congregations independent of the TSPM and CCC. Some of the house churches have become large congregations, such as the Shouwang Church 守望教会, which comprised about 1,000 attendants at its peak. The church’s founding pastor, Jin Tianming, started a Bible study group in 1993. By 2005, he had organized multiple Bible study and fellowship groups; these groups merged into a congregation that conducted worship services in a rented office building in Haidian District. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, continuous raiding and evictions disturbed their meetings. In November 2009, the congregation was evicted from its rented hall and the authorities blocked the church from renting another large hall for Sunday worship. In 2011, Shouwang purchased halls in another office building in Haidian District, but the authorities prevented the real estate developer from delivering the keys to the church. In response, Shouwang leaders called members to hold outdoor Sunday services in the Zhongguancun Plaza 中关村广场. However, on the day of the first planned service, April 10, 2011, Beijing police sent around 4,500 officers to seal off the plaza and prevented the church members, who numbered around 500, from congregating.3 Since then, Shouwang’s senior pastor has been under de facto house arrest at his apartment and police have guarded the plaza every Sunday morning.
The center of China’s Daoist institutions is Baiyun Temple 白云观, which was founded in the eighth century. For centuries, Baiyun Temple was staffed with official Daoist clergy who played a major role in the imperial rituals. In addition to its administrative and political importance, Baiyun Temple is also a monastic institution. The Niujie Mosque 牛街礼拜寺, erected in 996, is the oldest and largest mosque in Beijing, capable of holding more than a thousand worshippers. The architecture style is a mixture of Islamic and Han elements.
Mount Miaofeng 妙峰山 in western Beijing is a site of worship in Daoism and folk religion. The annual temple fair in the first half of the fourth month of the lunar calendar attracts tens of thousands of people with its parades of gods, opera and kungfu performances, and other activities of worship and celebration. The history of the temple fair can be traced back to the seventeenth century near the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). Since then many folk religious organizations have formed in the surrounding area. In recent years, the local government has supported the revival of the temple fair for economic and cultural reasons. In 2008, the Mount Miaofeng temple fair was recognized by the Chinese government as a national site of intangible cultural heritage.4
2. Tianjin 天津
Land area: 11,305 km2
Population: 12,938,693
Topography
Tianjin is located to the southeast of Beijing, at the northeastern extremity of the North China Plain (Map 20). Tianjin is one of the four municipalities directly under the central government and has jurisdiction over 16 districts. The terrain in Tianjin is generally low and flat. The Yan Mountains 燕山 intrude into northern Tianjin, making it hilly in the far north. The Hai River 海河 flows through Tianjin and enters Bohai Bay 渤海湾.
Tianjin is an economic center of North China—its most important manufacturing base as well as its leading port. Binhai New Area 滨海新区 has been a focus of economic development and is home to distinct industrial clusters of heavy machinery, chemicals, and shipbuilding. Tianjin is also a city of great historical and cultural significance. Concessions set up by Western countries have cultivated the distinctive features of the city proper, integrating the modern with the ancient, the West with the East.
Demography
Tianjin’s population is not evenly distributed: more people live in the six districts in the central part of the municipality, such as Heping 和平, Nankai 南开, and Hedong 河东, and the surrounding districts, such as Beichen 北辰, Xiqing 西青, and Binhai 滨海. The total population rose from 9,848,731 in 2000 to 12,938,693 in 2010, a 30.3 percent increase. The growth in population is largely due to immigration: the number of people moving into Tianjin increased 53 times over the same period, from 55,885 to 2,991,501 (Maps 21–22).
The percentage of urban residents increased slightly from 73.1 percent in 2000 to 77.6 percent in 2010. The percentage of the population with at least a college degree rose from 8.7 percent to 17.4 percent over the same period, while the national average was 3.3 percent in 2000 and 7.6 percent in 2010. The proportion of the elderly population, people aged 60 and above, rose slightly from 12 percent in 2000 to 13.7 percent in 2010. There has been a significant increase in one-generation households, from 23.0 percent in 2010 to 36.2 percent in 2010. Districts with a high proportion of immigrants, such as Binhai, Xiqing, and Ninghe 宁河, have a much higher percentage of one-generation households, about 43.5 percent in 2010. Meanwhile, the average family size shrank from 3.1 persons to 2.8 over the decade.
Key Religious Facts
As was the case in Beijing, the 2004 Economic Census listed very few religious sites in Tianjin. To compensate for this underreporting, we used multiple methods to collect additional information. The religious landscape of Tianjin appears to have a concentration of diverse religions in the downtown districts, but very few in the rural counties (Map 23 and Figure 10).
Tianjin: Distribution of religious sites by district.
Tianjin is the center of Mazu culture in northern China. The Mazu Temple, known as Tianhou Temple 天后宫 [Queen of Heaven Palace] and popularly referred to as the Niangniang Palace 娘娘宫, was first built during the Yuan Dynasty (1260–1368) in 1326. It was dedicated to the sea goddess Mazu, to whom seafarers leaving Tianjin’s ports prayed for safe passage. In 2016 Tianjin saw the opening of the Mazu Cultural Park, which boasts the largest statue of Mazu in the world.
Zailijiao 在理教 or Lijiao 理教 [Way of the abiding principle] is a religious sect that originated in Tianjin during the seventeenth century, gained widespread adherence throughout northern and central China during the latter decades of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), and became one of the largest and most well-developed religious sects during the Republican era (1911–1949). Zailijiao attracted followers by promoting abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, and opium as well as treating drug addiction. After 1949, the Chinese Communist party-state effectively eradicated Zailijiao along with other religious sects on the mainland.5
Tianjin is the childhood home of Buddhist master Hongyi 弘一 (1880–1942), formerly Li Shutong 李叔同. As a multitalented artist, poet, actor, musician, and teacher, Li Shutong became a key intellectual in political movements to modernize China, but at age 38 he made a radical decision to abandon his worldly success and begin a monastic life under the Dharma name Yongyi. He is highly esteemed as a great Buddhist practitioner and teacher, and his simple and clean calligraphic style has become synonymous with modern Han Buddhism.6
The Western concessions that cultivated the distinctive features of Tianjin also left a religious legacy of Christianity and anti-Christian riots. Following the Convention of Beijing 北京条约 between the Qing Empire and the United Kingdom, France, and Russia, Catholic and Protestant missionaries arrived in Tianjin. In 1869, the first Catholic church was built. A year later, however, on June 21, 1870, anti-foreign sentiment erupted in a violent riot known as the Tianjin Massacre. Rumors of sexual perversion and mistreatment of orphans among both foreign and Chinese Catholics in Tianjin led a local mob to kill at least 19 foreigners, including the French consul, several French merchants, two Catholic priests, and 10 Catholic nuns, as well as dozens of Chinese Christians. Similar incidents of anti-foreign and anti-Christian violence occurred throughout China over the following decades, culminating in the Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901).7
In recent years, the Vatican, underground Catholics, and the CCPA have engaged in negotiations. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI sent a letter to China’s Catholics. The letter stressed the “duty of union” with all the members of the “ecclesial community,” emphasizing that it is this lack of unity that is the “greatest danger” to the Church.8 The pope’s words reflect the fact that tension occurs not only between the government and the underground congregations, but also between the Vatican and underground Catholics, and between state-sanctioned organizations and the underground Catholics. The members of the underground Catholic church, who have chosen to remain faithful to the pontiff, were urged to reconcile with the CCPA, and through it with the Communist government. Xikai Cathedral 西开天主教堂 in Tianjin, which accommodates up to 1,500 people, can be seen as a physical locus of tensions in the church. In August 2007, it was reported that underground Catholic bishop Stephen Li Side 李思德 had been ordered by security officers to join the CCPA. In July 2008, most priests in the Tianjin Diocese of the official church “pledged obedience” to Bishop Li Side. Meanwhile, more members of the underground church began attending Mass at the official Xikai Cathedral.9
3. Hebei 河北
Land area: 187,700 km2
Population: 71,854,210
Capital: Shijiazhuang 石家庄
Topography
Hebei is located in the northeast part of China and surrounds Beijing and Tianjin municipalities. The name Hebei means “north of the river,” in reference to the Yellow River. The province is divided into 11 prefectures, including 47 urban districts, 20 county-level cities, 105 counties. Ethnic minorities compose 4.2 percent of the total population; most of the minority population is Manchu (72 percent) or Hui (19 percent). Ethnic minorities are dispersed throughout the province and the majority live in rural areas.
Most of the major cities and economic development zones are located in the southwestern part of Hebei, which is part of the North China Plain 华北平原 (Map 24). The northern half of the province is covered by the Yan Mountains 燕山 in the north and the Taihang Mountains 太行山 in the west. Hebei is well connected to surrounding regions by its waterways. To the east is the Bo Sea 渤海. The Hai River 海河 system in the south and the Luan River 滦河 system in the northeast run throughout the province. Hebei has a long history as an agricultural province, with a large population active in the agriculture, forestry, and animal husbandry sectors. Its main agricultural products include wheat, maize, and millet, and a large proportion of the yield feeds Beijing and Tianjin. In recent decades, Hebei’s economy has largely been driven by iron and steel manufacturing, and it is known as an industrial base and transportation hub for its giant neighbors.
Demography
Hebei is the sixth-largest province in China. Its population increased from 66,684,419 in 2000 to 71,854,210 in 2010, a rise of 7.8 percent. The central and southern parts of the province, mostly covered by the North China Plain, are much more populated than the regions of the Taihang Mountains and Yan Mountains in the west and north. Population density in the southern part has reached more than 2,000 people per square kilometer, while the northern part contains fewer than 100 people per square kilometer. Immigration from other provinces has risen by 17 percent over the decade, from 1,201,283 in 2000 to 1,404,673 in 2010.
Between 2000 and 2010, the level of urbanization grew significantly and the nonagricultural population increased from 27 to 43 percent. The percentage of people with a college degree or higher rose from 2.5 percent in 2000 to 7 percent in 2010. One-generation households have become more common. As of 2010, Zhangjiakou prefecture 张家口市 had a high percentage of one-generation households compared with the rest of the province. In many of its counties 40 percent of households were one-generation households.
There is a noticeable disparity between north and south in the percentage of young people between ages 15 and 34. The southern part of Hebei had a higher percentage of young population compared with the northern part, and the percentage of young population dropped between 2000 and 2010 in most counties (Maps 25–26). Meanwhile, the percentage of people aged 60 and above in the province as a whole increased from 10.4 per cent in 2000 to 13.3 percent in 2010.
Key Religious Facts
Hebei has been the center for a diverse range of major religions, especially Catholicism, Islam, and Buddhism (Map 27 and Figure 11). Protestant churches are fewer and dispersed around the province. Hebei was once the center of Catholicism in China, a legacy of Matteo Ricci and his fellow Jesuits who led successful missions in Beijing and the surrounding areas. Today Catholicism has continued to operate in a resilient manner: not only are there a large number of registered churches in the province—323 of Hebei’s 744 official religious sites in the 2004 economic census are Catholic churches (Photo 14)—but there are also a significant number of underground Catholics. There are particularly high concentrations of Catholic churches in western Cangzhou 沧州 and eastern Handan 邯郸. Many Catholic churches are located in Baoding 保定 as well, but few appeared in the 2004 Economic Census, perhaps because many of them have stayed underground. Since underground Catholics in China still seek direct communion with the Vatican, underground clergy and believers are often reported as missing or imprisoned. In February 2015, Bishop Shi Enxiang 师恩祥, a well-known figure in the underground Catholic circle in China, passed away after having been imprisoned for a total of 51 years. Shi was ordained to the priesthood by the Vatican in 1947. In 1957, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for refusing to join the CCPA. Following his release in 1980, he was named the diocesan bishop by the Vatican in 1982. In 2001, he was reported missing and was later confirmed to have been detained by the authorities, and he died in prison.
Hebei: Distribution of religious sites by prefecture.
A church at Xiwanzi, one of the sites of the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Credit: Xiaoxiong Zhou
Buddhism remains one of the major religions in Hebei. Both Han and Tibetan Buddhism are present in the province. The Chengde Mountain Resort 承德避暑山庄 built by and for the Qing emperors in northern Hebei includes a number of temples and pagodas in the Tibetan tradition. Modeled after the Potala Palace in Lhasa, the Putuo Zongsheng Temple 普陀宗乘寺, one of the temples in the resort, is often referred to as “Little Potala.” Han Buddhism has also been thriving in Hebei over the past two decades. The Bailin Temple 柏林禅寺 near the provincial capital of Shijiazhuang houses more than 150 monks and the Buddhism Academy of Hebei. Numerous Buddhist temples have also been restored, rebuilt, and reopened in Hebei in the past decade.
There are also high concentration of Islamic mosques in Cangzhou, some areas of Baoding, Langfang 廊坊, Tangshan 唐山, and Zhangjiakou. Dachang Hui Autonomous County 大厂回族自治县 in Langfang, established in 1955, is a special case among China’s minority autonomous regions, as it has created an industry based on its Muslim heritage. In 2004, the local government began developing Dachang as a producer of halal food; the value of the county’s annual livestock production had reached 695 million yuan per year and accounted for 70.2 percent of the total agricultural output of the prefecture. Soon, Dachang was supplying halal beef to the multinational fast-food giant McDonald’s and halal lamb to many of China’s hot-pot restaurants.10 This is an example of the role played by religion in China’s process of globalization and modernization as ethnic minority groups enter national and international economies.
Various folk religions are also practiced in Hebei. Zhuolu 涿鹿 in Hebei is widely regarded as one of the cradles of Chinese civilization. According to legend, Chinese civilization was born here and spread outward.11 The three legendary primogenitors—the Yellow Emperor 黄帝, his rival Chi You 蚩尤, and the Yan Emperor 炎帝—all lived, farmed, and fought in the area about 5,000 years ago. In 2006, the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party, announced Zhuolu to be the origin of Chinese civilization. Since then, large-scale ancestor worship ceremonies have been held in Zhuolu each year with high-ranking officials from the mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao in attendance, as part of the strategy to strengthen the “harmonious society.” In recent years, China saw a revival of traditional forms of worship as President Xi Jinping openly stated that he hoped China’s “traditional cultures” or faiths would help fill the void that has allowed corruption to flourish.12 Subsequently, more occasions of large-scale ancestor and Confucius worship began to be reported in official media.13
4. Shanxi 山西
Land area: 156,300 km2
Population: 35,712,101
Capital: Taiyuan 太原
Topography
Shanxi is a province in central China whose name means “west of the mountain,” in reference to the Taihang Mountains 太行山. Shanxi is divided into 11 prefectures, including 23 urban districts, 11 county-level cities, and 85 counties.
Shanxi is situated on the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau 黄土高原, and the majority of its terrain is mountainous and hilly (Map 28). The Taihang Mountains lie along the northeastern boundary and the Lüliang Mountains 吕梁山 are the main range in the west. The Fen River 汾水 cuts a series of valleys through the mountains. The land surface of Shanxi is covered with a thick layer of loess, which causes sandstorms. Geographic disadvantages have limited Shanxi’s economic and agricultural development in comparison to many other provinces. However, the province is rich in coal and contains a great variety of coal and minerals spread across a wide area. The coal deposits in Shanxi account for one-third of the nation’s total, making the province a leading supplier of coal in China.
Demography
Shanxi had a total population of 32,471,242 in 2000 and 35,712,101 in 2010, an increase of 10 percent. Its population density increased from 350 persons per square kilometer in 2000 to 418 in 2010. The majority of the population resides in the central part of Shanxi, along the Fen River. The number of immigrants from other provinces rose from 792,110 in 2000 to 931,653 in 2010, an increase of 17.6 percent. Nevertheless, the percentage of immigrants in the population in 2010 was lower than the national average (4 percent). Most immigrants live in the capital city of Taiyuan, but also in Datong 大同 and Jinzhong 晋中.
Between 2000 and 2010, the province changed greatly in terms of urbanization, education, and family structure. The percentage of the population with a college degree or higher rose from 3 percent in 2000 to 7 percent in 2010 (Maps 29–30). The percentage of people registered as nonagricultural increased from 31 percent in 2000 to 42 percent in 2010. The average number of persons in a family shrank from 3.6 percent in 2000 to 3.2 in 2010, while the proportion of one-generation households increased from 19 percent in 2000 to 28 percent in 2010. The infant sex ratio decreased slightly between 2000 and 2010, from 113 males per 100 females to 111.
The proportion of the elderly population (people aged 60 and over) in Shanxi has increased between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of elderly residents tends to be higher in the eastern part of the province, near Yangquan 阳泉 and Jinzhong (15.6 percent) and lower in the western part, around Lüliang and Linfen 临汾 (12.2 percent). A similar disparity between the western and eastern parts of the province can also be found in the percentage of young population. Despite an overall decline in the percentage of people between ages 15 and 34 from 2000 to 2010, the proportion of younger persons was higher in the western part than in the eastern part (Maps 31–32). Lishi District 离石区 in Lüliang and Xiaodian District 小店区 in Taiyuan had a strikingly high percentage of young population, around 60 percent.
Key Religious Facts
The religious landscape of Shanxi shows that Buddhist temples are concentrated in Datong and eastern Xinzhou 忻州. Some Islamic mosques are in southern prefectures (Map 33 and Figure 12). Protestant churches are concentrated in northern Linfen, southwestern Jinzhong, and some places in Datong in the north. There are high concentrations of Catholic churches in Taiyuan, the southwestern area of Jinzhong, central Changzhi 长治, and some places in Linfen.
Shanxi: Distribution of religious sites by prefecture.
As an inland province, Shanxi contains many historical sites associated with various world religions. It is one of the first places where Buddhism was introduced into China. As early as the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 CE–220 CE), Kāśyapamātanga 迦叶摩腾 and Dharmaratna 竺法兰, two eminent Indian monks, went to Mount Wutai 五台山, located in northwestern Xinzhou, and built the monastery now called Xianfa Temple 显法寺, which is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in China. For hundreds of years, Mount Wutai has played an important role as a destination for Buddhist pilgrims. In July 2016, representatives of Chamsham Temple 湛山精舍, where the Buddhist Association of Canada is located, visited Xianfa Temple. Venerable Master Sing Hung 性空长老, the founder of Chamsham, along with the vice chairman of the Shanxi Buddhist Association and the chairman of the Mount Wutai Buddhist Association, led the ritual of offering incense, which is taken as a significant gesture symbolizing the strengthening of the religious relationship between the two temples.
Liuhe Village 六合村 to the west of Taiyuan City is known as the largest Catholic village in China. Catholicism reached the village as early as the seventeenth century.14 During the Cultural Revolution, many church buildings were destroyed and many religious practices were suppressed, but all were revived in the 1980s. Starting from 2000, the village established an annual tradition of exchanging Christmas presents in response to the central government’s reform-era slogan “culture sets the stage, economy sings the opera” (wenhua datai jingji changxi 文化搭台 经济唱戏).15
The history of Muslims in Shanxi dates back to the Tang Dynasty (618–907). During the Yuan Dynasty (1260–1368), many Muslims in the Mongolian army were stationed in Shanxi. In the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), Muslims from Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningxia migrated and settled in Shanxi. Today, Muslims in Shanxi are mainly of Hui ethnicity and they are scattered all over the province. In Taiyuan, there are some famous Hui communities, for example along Nanshi Street and Nanhai Street.16
The worship of Guan Yu 关羽 (?–219 CE) may have started in Shanxi. Guan Yu, also known as Guangong 关公, was born in Yuncheng 运城 in southern Shanxi. He was a loyal general devoted to Liu Bei 刘备 (161–223), who was from the royal lineage of the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) and a contender for the rule of the empire. Guan Yu was deified during the Sui Dynasty (581–618) for his loyalty, righteousness, and bravery. The Temple of Guan Yu in Xiezhou 解州 of Yuncheng City 运城市 was initially built in the Sui Dynasty. Guan Yu is regarded as the patron god of well-regarded Jin merchants 晋商 (Shanxi business people), who worship him for the purpose of building and maintaining an honest corporate culture.17 He is worshipped throughout China and in overseas Chinese communities as well.
5. Inner Mongolia 内蒙古
Land area: 1,183,000 km2
Population: 24,706,321
Capital: Hohhot 呼和浩特
Topography
Inner Mongolia (Neimenggu 内蒙古), officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is situated along the northern border of China with Mongolia and Russia. It contains 9 prefectures and three prefecture-level leagues (meng 盟), including 22 urban districts, 11 county-level cities, 17 counties, and 52 county-level banners (qi 旗). Mongols account for 20.5 percent of the total population. Inner Mongolia lies essentially on the Inner Mongolia Plateau 内蒙古高原 at around 1,200 meters above sea level (Map 34). In the east, the plateau is covered by extensive grassland. The Gobi Desert 戈壁沙漠, the Helan Mountains 贺兰山, and the sand dunes of the Badain Jaran Desert 巴丹吉林沙漠 form the western part. The eastern edge of Inner Mongolia is dominated by the Greater Khingan Range 大兴安岭. The region is bitterly cold in winter and warm in summer, with an average annual temperature between −1°C and 10°C. Snowstorms are a common threat in winter. Containing one-third of China’s grassland, Inner Mongolia is China’s largest livestock producer. The capital city, Hohhot, is renowned as the “Hometown of Milk” because the two largest companies supplying dairy products in China, Mengniu 蒙牛 Dairy and the Yili 伊利 Group, are headquartered there.
Demography
The population of Inner Mongolia is concentrated in two areas, both in the southern part of the province. One area includes the southeastern counties of Tongliao 通辽 and Chifeng 赤峰, which are adjacent to Liaoning 辽宁 Province. The other area is in the Hetao Plain 河套平原 in the west, where the major cities of Hohhot, Baotou 包头, and Ordos 鄂尔多斯 are located. The northern area bordering Mongolia is mainly desert and grassland and is sparsely populated. In general, the total population rose a little more than 6 percent between 2000 and 2010. The number of immigrants from other provinces was 1,225,488 in 2000 and increased by 18 percent to 1,444,181 in 2010. Immigrants are concentrated in counties in western and northeastern areas of Inner Mongolia (Maps 37–38).
The urbanization rate of Inner Mongolia is relatively low compared with other provinces: the proportion of urban residents in the population was 34 percent in 2000 and 37 percent in 2010. Nonetheless, as in other provinces, higher education has become more common: the number of people with at least a college education rose by 184 percent from 2000 to 2010 (Maps 37–38). As of 2010, college-educated people comprised more than 5 percent of the local population in most counties. The western counties and major metropolises have a higher proportion of college graduates.
Key Religious Facts
Although the 2004 Economic Census indicated that Protestant churches made up 38 percent of the total number of religious sites in Inner Mongolia, the religious makeup of the province is far more diverse, including Tibetan and Han Buddhism, Daoism, Catholicism, Protestantism, and shamanism or folk religions (Map 39 and Figure 13). The religious landscape of Inner Mongolia shows a concentration and diversity of multiple religions in the center, including Huhhot, the capital, as well as Bayan Nur 巴彦淖尔, Baotou, and Ulanqab 乌兰察布, where there are numerous Protestant and Catholic churches, Buddhist temples, and Islamic mosques. There are also some Catholic churches in Chifeng, and a good number of mosques in Hulun Buir 呼伦贝尔 in the east and Wuhai 乌海 in the southwest.
Inner Mongolia: Distribution of religious sites by prefecture.
During the recent religious growth in Inner Mongolia, Protestant communities seem to have been the most effective in building local ties and organizations. Although Christianity remains a minor religion, its roots in Inner Mongolia date back to the Nestorians.18 In 1956, the TSPM Committee was established in two cities, Baotou and Hohhot, but the number of registered Protestants was only around 12,000. By 1988, however, the total number of Christians under the TSPM had risen to 71,000. In March 2000, the Chinese Protestant magazine Tianfeng 天风 reported 160,000 Christians and 962 registered churches and meeting points in Inner Mongolia.19
In addition to officially approved TSPM churches, underground Christian sects exist as well, including the Jesus Family 耶穌家庭, a Chinese Pentecostal communitarian church originated in Shandong in 1927. Jesus Family churches are primarily located in rural and semirural areas, where members lead a shared life, inspired by the life of the apostles in the biblical book of Acts, and are known for their utopian pursuit of Christian communalism. In 1949, there were over one hundred of these communities throughout China, numbering thousands of people. The Jesus Family was dismantled in 1952 and its leader died in prison. A great number of followers still remain in Inner Mongolia, where the Jesus Family was introduced in the 1930s in Wuyuan 五原. Back then, Han Chinese nurses and doctors utilized their medical skills and learned Mongolian, thus attracting local members into the church community.20
According to a survey conducted in 2004, around 80 percent of the population in Inner Mongolia practices the worship of aobao 敖包 (Photo 15).21 Aobao refers to stone structures that serve as altars for sacrifice and are associated with a form of shamanism related to the worship of nature that has existed in the grassland and forests of Inner Mongolia for centuries.22 It is an integral part of Mongolian culture that also includes some elements of Tibetan Buddhism. Since the 1980s, many aobao have attracted tourists from both within and outside China. However, the popularization of local worship had ecological consequences, as tourism began to cause grassland degradation.23 At the same time, the popularity of aobao tourism also attracted official attention. In 2014, the first comprehensive survey of aobao was conducted by the Chinese Association for Mongol Studies, the Inner Mongolia Folklore Society, Uxin Banner 乌审旗, and the government of Ordos. A ceremony was held in Uxin Banner in 2016 to announce the first 27 officially recognized aobao.24 Many suggest that this survey represents another step taken by the government, in the name of cultural preservation, to gain control over collective actions and all ideological matters.25
Khorchin Mongols worship aobao to keep the grassland and its people safe.
Credit: Baigula Dai
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