Rehe [key], former province (c.44,000 sq mi/114,000 sq km), NE China. Chengde was the capital. In 1955, Rehe was divided between the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region and the provinces of Hebei and Liaoning. The Zongling is one of the ranges of this largely hilly and mountainous region, which is crossed by swift, unnavigable rivers. Rehe was the traditional gateway to Mongolia and from time to time was overrun by Tatars, Huns, and Khitan Mongols. It was the seat (10th–12th cent.) of the Liao (Khitan) empire. Conquered by the Manchus in the 17th cent., Rehe became an imperial pastureland. It was taken by the Japanese early in 1933 and included in Manchukuo; it was not restored to China until the end of World War II. From 1945 to 1955 it retained its provincial status but was administered as part of Manchuria.
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