CHIHFENG, DIOCESI di. – It is located in China, in the civil province of Jehol. It was established as an apostolic prefecture on 21 January 1932, by division of the apostolic vicariate of Jehol, and entrusted to the Chinese secular clergy. On 21 April 1949 it was elevated to a suffragan diocese of Syiyan.
It has an area of 62,000 sq. km. The total population, as of 30 June 1947, was 1,700,000 inhabitants, poor and engaged in agriculture; Catholics numbered 29,300. The territory of this mission may be considered, of the entire Mongolian region, the area evangelized most thoroughly, especially in the northern and north-western parts, inhabited by ancient Christian communities. On the aforementioned date, the missionary personnel consisted of 34 Chinese secular priests, 4 fathers of the Congregation of Scheut, and 7 Chinese lay religious.