Beijing Military Region

Former military region of China

Beijing Military Region

Beijing Military Region (highlighted)

Simplified Chinese| 北京军区
Traditional Chinese| 北京軍區
| Transcriptions

Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin| Běijīng Jūnqū

The Beijing Military Region was one of seven military regions for the Chinese People's Liberation Army. From the mid-1980s to 2017, it had administration of all military affairs within Beijing city, Tianjin city, Hebei province, Shanxi province, and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The Region is mainly responsible for defending the People's Republic of China from Mongolia and Russia, and also protects the capital of China, and had the largest number of military personnel of any of the seven regions active from 1985 to 2017. The Region has now been disbanded and superseded by the Central Theater Command and Northern Theater Command.

Both the 63rd and 65th Corps/Group Armies were stationed in the Beijing area after returning from the Korean War and remained in the region ever since, becoming Group Armies after 1985.[1] The 13th Air Force Corps was stationed at Shijiazhuang in Hebei Province from 1971 to 1976.

On 26 October 1988 the 17th Air Division was reorganized into the Beijing MR Training Base (serials 6xx2x).[2]

In reductions announced in September 2003, the 24th Group Army (Hebei), and the 63rd Group Army (Shanxi) were both disbanded. About the same time, the 10th Air Corps, also stationed in the region, was disestablished (PLAAF 2010).

The International Institute for Strategic Studies attributed to the command 300,000 personnel in 2006, consisting of three group armies (the 27th Group Army, 38th Group Army, and the 65th Group Army), two armoured divisions, one mechanised infantry division, five motorised divisions, one artillery division, three armoured, seven motorised infantry, four artillery, a total of five various anti-aircraft brigades, and one anti-tank regiment.[3] The command is also augmented by the PLA Beijing Garrison, which consists of the 1st and 3rd guard divisions (Military Police), and the Beijing Garrison Honor Guard Battalion and Color Guard Company, both of which are charged with public duties. The command is also home to the PLA Navy (PLAN) North Sea Fleet.

The last commander was General Song Puxuan (2014-2016). The political commissar was General Liu Fulian.

## History and mission

[edit]

A memorial at the entrance to a military unit in Beijing's Fengtai District

The Beijing Military Region traces its lineage to the establishment of the Northwest Military Region in May 1948. It was renamed the Beijing Military Region in 1955,[4] when the Inner Mongolia Military Region was downgraded to a district, and was folded into the Beijing Military Region.

The Beijing Military Region is primarily charged with protecting the capital. Because of its location in the capital, the Beijing Military Region was the most important of the seven military regions. Each unit from the Beijing Military Region contributed forces to Beijing for the crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, and these elements remained deployed in Beijing long after using deadly force to remove the demonstrators.[5]

In addition to guarding the capital, the Beijing Military Region is also in charge of training key personnel for leadership positions through the numerous military academies in the region.

### Commanders

[edit]

* Yang Chengwu (1955-1958)
* Yang Yong (1958-1963)
* Zheng Weishan (1963-1971)
* Li Desheng (1971-1974)
* Chen Xilian (1974-1980)
* Qin Jiwei (1980-1987)
* Zhou Yibing (1987-1990)
* Wang Chengbin (1990-1993)
* Li Laizhu (1993-1997)
* Li Xinliang (1997-2002)
* Zhu Qi (2002-2007)
* Fang Fenghui (2007-2012)[6]
* Zhang Shibo (2012-2014)
* Song Puxuan (2014-2016)

## Structure

[edit]

The organizational structure as of 2016 was as follows:[7]

* Leadership
* Commander
* Deputy Commanders
* Regional Chief-of-Staff
* Political Commissar Fu Tinggui
* Deputy Political Commissars
* Political Department Director
* Headquarters Department
* HQ Battalion

### Direct Troops

[edit]

* 27th Group Army
* Army HQ
* Army HQ Battalion
* 38th Group Army
* 65th Group Army

### PLA Beijing Garrison

[edit]

* 1st Guard Division
* Beijing Garrison Honor Guard Battalion
* 3rd Guard Division
* 17th Guard Regiment

## Nickname

[edit]

Organizations affiliated with the Beijing Military Region often used the nickname "comrade" (Chinese: 战友; pinyin: zhànyǒu; lit. 'battle friend'), including the Comrade Performance Troupe (Chinese: 战友文工团) and the Comrade Newspaper (Chinese: 战友报).

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Michael Swaine, RAND 1992, 75.
2. ^ "Orbats - Scramble". www.scramble.nl. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
3. ^ International Institute for Strategic Studies, The Military Balance 2006
4. ^ Li, Gucheng (1995). A Glossary of Political Terms of the People's Republic of China. Chinese University Press. p. 534\. ISBN 9789622016156.
5. ^ GlobalSecurity.org - Beijing Military Region, Beijing Military Area Command
6. ^ Bo Zhiyue (2009). China's Elite Politics: Governance and Democratization, Volume 17. World Scientific. p. 118\. ISBN 978-981-283-672-4.
7. ^ http://www.giga-hamburg.de/dl/download.php?d=/content/ias/archiv/cds/cds_0805.pdf Archived 2012-03-01 at the Wayback Machine, p. 24.

* v
* t
* e

People's Liberation Army

General|

* History
* Modernization
* Budget
* Grades
* Equipment
* Decorations
* Ribbons
* Generals
* Weapons of mass destruction
* Information operations and information warfare
* Reserve Force

Branches|

| Ground|

* Structure
* Equipment

* * *

* Infantry [zh]
* Armored forces [zh]
* Artillery [zh]
* Air defense [zh]
* Aviation
* aircraft
* Engineers [zh]
* Chemical defense [zh]
* Special operations units

|

Navy|

* Organization
* Weaponry
* History

* * *

* Branches: Surface
* ships
* aircraft carriers
* Submarine
* Coastal Defense
* Naval Air
* aircraft
* Marine Corps
* special operations brigade

* * *

* Fleets: North Sea
* East Sea
* South Sea

Air|

* Aviation
* aircraft
* airbases
* Air Defense
* Airborne Corps
* special operations brigade

Rocket|

* Missile operation units
* Rocket Force corps of engineers [zh]
* Special Operations Regiment

Arms|

| Aerospace|

* Astronaut Corps
* astronauts
* Deep Space Network

|

Cyberspace|

* Cyberspace Force

Information Support|

* Information Support Force

Joint Logistics Support|

* Wuhan Joint Logistics Support Base
* Theater's Joint Logistics Support Centers: Wuxi; Guilin; Xining; Shenyang; Zhengzhou

Structure|

| Supreme command|

* Central Military Commission
* Chairman
* Vice-Chairmen
* General Office
* Joint Staff
* Intelligence Bureau
* Guard Bureau
* Guard Unit
* Political Work
* Logistic Support
* Equipment Development
* Manned Space Agency
* Training and Administration
* National Defense Mobilization
* Discipline Inspection
* Strategic Planning
* Reform and Organizational Structure
* International Military Cooperation
* Audit Office
* Offices Administration

|

Theater
Commands|

* Eastern
* Southern
* Hong Kong
* Macau
* Western
* Tibet
* Xinjiang
* Northern
* Central
* Beijing

Military regions
(defunct)|

* Shenyang
* Beijing
* Lanzhou
* Jinan
* Nanjing
* Guangzhou
* Chengdu

Ranks|

* Ground Force
* Navy
* Air Force

Uniform|

* Xingkong (camouflage)
* Type 07
* Type 87 (camouflage)
* Type 97 Service Dress

Institutions|

* Academy of Military Science
* National Defence University
* National University of Defense Technology
* Army Command College
* PLA Air Force Aviation University
* Academic institutions of the armed forces of China

Publications|

* PLA Daily
* August First Film Studio
* CCTV-7
* The Science of Military Strategy
* Defense White Paper

Paramilitary|

* People's Armed Police
* LODDs
* China Coast Guard
* Special Operations Units
* Snow Leopard Commando Unit
* Mountain Eagle Commando Unit
* Militia
* Maritime Militia
* Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps

Contractors|

* China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation
* China National Electronics Import & Export Corporation
* Norinco
* China Precision Machinery Import-Export Corporation
* China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation
* Poly Technologies
* Seven Sons of National Defence

* Armed conflicts
* Korean War
* Authorized defense products dealer

* v
* t
* e

Officers of the Beijing Military Region

Commanders|

* Yang Chengwu
* Yang Yong
* Zheng Weishan
* Li Desheng
* Chen Xilian
* Qin Jiwei
* Zhou Yibing
* Wang Chengbin
* Li Laizhu
* Li Xinliang
* Zhu Qi
* Fang Fenghui
* Zhang Shibo
* Song Puxuan

Political Commissar|

* Zhu Liangcai
* Lai Chuanzhu
* Liao Hansheng
* Li Xuefeng
* Xie Fuzhi
* Liu Geping
* Chen Xianrui
* Xie Xuegong
* Ji Dengkui
* Liu Zihou
* Wu De
* Qin Jiwei
* Yuan Shengping
* Fu Chongbi
* Yang Baibing
* Liu Zhenhua
* Zhang Gong
* Gu Shanqing
* Du Tiehuan
* Fu Tinggui
* Liu Fulian

Chief of Staff|

* Han Wei
* Zeng Mei
* Xiao Wenjiu
* Ma Weihua
* Xu Xin
* Zhou Yibing
* Zou Yuqi
* Huang Yunqiao
* Liang Guanglie
* Huang Xinsheng
* Chen Xitao
* Zhu Qi
* Gao Zhongxing
* Chang Wanquan
* Qiu Jinkai
* Wang Xibin
* Zhang Baoshu
* Wang Ning
* Bai Jianjun
* Shi Luze [zh]

*[lit.]: Literal translation
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template