Huludao

Huludao 葫芦岛市
Prefecture-level city
The new district of Huludao
Location of Huludao City jurisdiction in Liaoning
Huludao Location of the city centre in Liaoning
Coordinates: 40°43′N 120°50′E / 40.717°N 120.833°E / 40.717; 120.833
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Liaoning
Districts and Counties	List Longgang District Lianshan District Nanpiao District Xingcheng City Suizhong County Jianchang County
Government
• CPC Party Secretary	Chen Xiaokun
• Mayor	Liu Tengfei
Area
• Total	10,415 km2 (4,021 sq mi)
Population (2007)
• Total	2,787,032
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal code	125000
Area code(s)	429
Licence plates	辽P
Administrative division code	211400
ISO 3166-2	cn-21-14
Website	www.hld.gov.cn

Huludao (simplified Chinese: 葫芦岛; traditional Chinese: 葫蘆島; pinyin: Húludǎo) is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, bordering Hebei to the southwest. It is one of the two principal cities, along with Jinzhou, in the Liaoxi Corridor. Known as Jinxi (锦西) until 1994, Huludao has a total area of 10,415 km² (4,021 sq mi) and a population of 2.87 million, of whom some 531,000 live in the city proper. Its name literally means "Gourd Island".

The area occupied by Huludao city has been settled by mankind since ancient times. Archeological evidence indicates that during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the region enjoyed advanced Bronze Age technology, while urban civilization first developed during the Warring States era.

The Ming dynasty saw the construction of the Liaoning section of the Great Wall through Huludao. During this time the town of Xingcheng was fortified with a defensive wall which still stands today.

In 1906, the county of Jinxi was established. It became an important center for resistance during the Japanese occupation. During 1945-1948, it was a battleground between the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist forces, and over one million Japanese prisoners of war were repatriated from its port.

Jinxi county was granted city status in 1982 under the jurisdiction of Jinzhou, before becoming a prefecture-level city in 1989. The city was renamed Huludao, originally the name of the peninsula and port in the city area, in 1994.