Ankang

Ankang (Chinese: 安康; pinyin: Ānkāng) is a prefecture-level city in southern Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China.

History

Ankang has a long history, with a recorded history of more than 3,000 years and cultural history which can be traced back to the Stone Age. Ankang County was set up in the first year of Taikang in Western Jin Dynasty (A.D. 280); the name AnKang means "having abundant harvest and happy forever, being peaceful and healthy". In the third year of Feidi in Western Wei Dynasty (A.D. 554), it was changed to "Golden State" because the Yuehe Chuandao Area in Ankang produces flake gold. Control of the area was often contested. After the founding of the People's Republic of China (1949), the Ankang Office of the Shaanxi Province People's Government was set up in 1950, growing to become the Ankang Area Civic Administration in 1979. In 2001, Ankang Area became Ankang City with a city-level administration.

Culture

Ankang's history and culture is nearly the same as Chinese culture, but with distinctive characteristics and geographical features marked by its diversity, which integrates east and west, north and south. It is influenced by Shaanxi culture, Chinese culture and Diqiang culture, with elements Bashu and Jinchu culture to form the present-day Han River culture after thousands of years of assimilation and fusion. The operas of Ankang have a long history, with nearly ten varieties, of which Han Opera is the best and most mature. According to incomplete statistics (?), the operas of Ankang consist of more than a thousand traditional plays. It is said that the tone of Beijing Opera originates from Han Opera. Ankang is well known as "the land for folk songs" and was named as "the land for folk songs in China" by the Ministry of Culture in 2003. Ziyang folk songs have become a cultural brand of Ankang. Ziyang folk songs and the Han tune "Erhuang" have been listed on the Intangible Cultural Heritage List by the State Council.

Ankang (asylum)

Ankang (Chinese: 安康) is a name shared by a number of psychiatric hospitals or asylums in China. The term literally means "peace and health [for the mentally ill]". Many of these institutions are prison-hospitals for holding prisoners judged to be mentally ill, and operate directly under the local Public Security Bureau. As a result, "ankang" is sometimes used in the Western press to denote the system of prison-hospitals in China. However, not all ankang hospitals are prison-hospitals, and some offer conventional psychiatric and medical treatment services.

Some patients sent to these institutions are political prisoners or Falun Gong practitioners. By some estimates 3,000 political prisoners are held in about 25 ankang institutions across China.

List of ankang hospitals

According to the United States Department of State, there were 20 ankang hospitals in China in early 2009, which are overseen by the Ministry of Public Security.