Hedong District (simplified Chinese: 河东区; traditional Chinese: 河東區; pinyin: Hédōng Qū) is located at the heart of the municipality of Tianjin, People's Republic of China. Its name literally means "east of the river", referring to its location east of the Hai River. Parts of the district were once part of the Russian Concession during the colonial period in the early 20th century.
In 1125, the territory of what would become Hedong District was part of Dazhigu, and fell under the control of Jin dynasty. It became a maritime transport hub during the Yuan dynasty. In 1404, the Ming dynasty built a series of military settlement on the southern bank of Hai River, causing the economic center of the region to shift south away from Dazhigu. For the rest of the Ming dynasty, Dazhigu remained part of Jinghai county.[2]
During the Qing dynasty, the area belonged to Wuqing county. After Eight-Nation Alliance occupied Tianjin in 1900, a portion of Wuqing county became part of Russian concession, while a piece of land south of Russian concession was given to Belgian as concession. In 1924, Republic of China regain the control of Russian concession, and set it as the 3rd district. Belgian concession was returned in 1931, where it became the 4th district. The city of Tianjin was occupied by Japan from 1937 to 1945, during which the border of districts within the city was redrawn 4 times.
After the founding of People's Republic of China, the area was divided into the 4th and 5th districts in 1951, and the latter was merged into the 4th district a year later. In 1956, the 4th district was given the current name Hedong. Its name was shortly changed to Dongfeng(Chinese: 东风; lit. 'East Wind') district in 1966, before changing back two years later.[3]
^2011年统计用区划代码和城乡划分代码:河东区 (in Chinese). National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China. Archived from the original on 2012-10-01. Retrieved 2013-08-08.
^Census Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China; Population and Employment Statistics Division of the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China (2012). 中国2010人口普查分乡、镇、街道资料 (1 ed.). Beijing: China Statistics Print. ISBN978-7-5037-6660-2.