Hebei is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the North China region. The modern province was established in 1911 as Chihli Province. Its capital and largest city is Shijiazhuang. Its one-character abbreviation is "冀" (Jì), named after Ji Province, a Han dynasty province (zhou) that included what is now southern Hebei. The name Hebei literally means "north of the river", referring to its location entirely to the north of the Yellow River.
Jinan is the capital of Shandong province in Eastern China. With a population of was 6.8 million as of the 2010 census, it is the second-largest city in Shandong after Qingdao. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of the region from the earliest beginnings of civilization and has evolved into a major national administrative, economic, and transportation hub. The city has held sub-provincial administrative status since 1994. Jinan is often called the "Spring City" for its famous 72 artesian springs.
Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. Historically, it has been a major link on the Northern Silk Road and it stands to become a major hub on the New Eurasian Land Bridge. The city is also a center for heavy industry and petrochemical industry.
Jinzhou, formerly Chinchow, is a coastal prefecture-level city in central-west Liaoning province, China. It is a geographically strategic city located in the Liaoxi Corridor, which connects most of the land transports between North China and Northeast China, and is the economic center of western Liaoning. Located on the northern shore of Liaodong Bay, Jinzhou encompasses a coastline of 97.7 km (60.7 mi), with the Port of Jinzhou being China's northernmost seaport.
Shijiazhuang formerly known as Shimen and romanized as Shihkiachwang, is the capital and largest city of North China's Hebei Province. Administratively a prefecture-level city, it is about 266 kilometres (165 mi) southwest of Beijing, and it administers eight districts, two county-level cities, and 12 counties.
Tangshan is a coastal, industrial prefecture-level city in the northeast of Hebei province. The city's industrialization began in 1870, when Kailuan Group established coal mines in the region. It's the birthplace of China's first standard-gauge railway, the first railway plant, the first steam locomotive, and the first cement factory. It was hailed as China's "cradle of industrialization". Even today, Tangshan is a hub of steel, energy, chemical, and ceramics production. Ping opera, which originated from the city's Luanzhou county, is one of the five most popular Chinese operas.
Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province in the People's Republic of China. It is located in the Datong Basin at an elevation of 1,040 metres (3,410 ft) and borders Inner Mongolia to the north and west and Hebei to the east. It had a population of 3,318,057 during the 2010 census, of whom 1,629,035 lived in the built-up area made of the three urban districts of Chengqu, Kuangqu and Nanjiao.
Baoding, formerly known as Baozhou and Qingyuan, is a prefecture-level city in central Hebei province, approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) southwest of Beijing. At the 2010 census, Baoding City had 11,194,372 inhabitants out of which 2,176,857 lived in the built-up area made of 3 urban districts and Qingyuan and Mancheng counties largely being conurbated, on 1,840 km2 (710 sq mi). Baoding is among 13 Chinese cities with a population of over 10 million, ranking seventh.
Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shandong on the east. At the 2010 census, its population was 9,174,683 inhabitants whom 2,845,790 lived in the built-up area made of 5 urban districts. Yongnian District in Handan and Shahe City in Xingtai have largely formed into a single conurbation.
Cangzhou is a prefecture-level city in eastern Hebei province, People's Republic of China. At the 2010 census, Cangzhou's built-up area made of Yunhe, Xinhua districts and Cang County largely being conurbated had a population of 1,205,814 inhabitants, while the prefecture-level administrative unit in total has a population of 7,134,062. It lies approximately 90 kilometres (56 mi) from the major port city of Tianjin, and 180 km (110 mi) from Beijing.
Langfang, is a prefecture-level city of Hebei Province, which was known as Tianjin Prefecture until 1973. It was renamed Langfang Prefecture after Tianjin became a municipality and finally upgraded into a prefecture-level city in 1988. Langfang is located approximately midway between Beijing and Tianjin. At the 2010 census, the population of Langfang was 4,358,839, of whom 868,066 lived in the built-up area made of Guangyang and Anci districts; its total area is around 6,417.28 km2 (2,477.73 sq mi). Langfang borders Baoding to the southwest, Cangzhou to the south, Beijing to the north and Tianjin to the east. Sanhe City and Dachang Hui County are now conurbated with Beijing, so that they form part of the same built-up area. Langfang is the smallest prefecture-level city of Hebei Province by land area.
Linfen is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shanxi province, People's Republic of China, bordering Shaanxi province to the west. It is situated along the banks of the Fen River. It has an area of 20,275 square kilometres (7,828 sq mi) and according to the 2010 Census, a population of 4,316,612 inhabitants of which 944,050 live in the built-up area made up of Yaodu urban district. The GDP of Linfen ranked second in Shanxi Province. It was known as Pingyang (平陽) during the Spring and Autumn period. In 2006, the American Blacksmith Institute listed Linfen as one of the ten most polluted cities in the world.
Huludao, formerly known as Jinxi (锦西) until 1994, is a coastal prefecture-level city in southwestern Liaoning province, People's Republic of China. Its name literally means "Gourd Island", referring to the fiddle-shaped contour of the peninsula, which resembles a bottle gourd, at the city's Longgang District. It has a total area of 10,415 km2 (4,021 sq mi) and a population of 2.87 million, of whom some 531,000 live in the city proper.
Xingtai, formerly known as Xingzhou and Shunde, is a prefecture-level city in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China. It has a total area of 12,486 km2 (4,821 sq mi) and administers 2 districts, 2 county-level cities and 15 counties. At the 2010 census, its population was 7,104,103 inhabitants whom 1,461,809 lived in the built-up area made of 2 urban districts and Xingtai and Nanhe Counties largely being conurbated now. It borders Shijiazhuang and Hengshui in the north, Handan in the south, and the provinces of Shandong and Shanxi in the east and west respectively.
Liú Zǒng, dharma name Dàjué (大覺), formally Duke of Chǔ (楚公), was a general of the Táng Dynasty. He took over control of Lúlóng Circuit in 810 after killing his father Liú Jì (劉濟) as well as his brother Liú Gǔn (劉緄), and thereafter ruled the circuit de facto independently from the imperial government. In 821, he submitted the circuit to imperial control and took tonsure to be a Buddhist monk. He died shortly after.
Tourism in China is a growing industry that is becoming a significant part of the Chinese economy. The rate of tourism has greatly expanded over the last few decades since the beginning of reform and opening-up. The emergence of a newly rich middle class and an easing of restrictions on movement by the Chinese authorities are both fueling this travel boom. China has become one of world'sand outbound tourist markets. According to Xinhuanet, the world is on the cusp of a sustained Chinese tourism boom.
The architecture of the Song dynasty (960–1279) was noted for its towering Buddhist pagodas, enormous stone and wooden bridges, lavish tombs, and extravagant palaces. Although literary works on architecture existed beforehand, architectural writing blossomed during the Song dynasty, maturing into a more professional form that described dimensions and working materials in a concise, organized manner. In addition to the examples still standing, depictions in Song artwork, architectural drawings, and illustrations in published books all aid modern historians in understanding the architecture of the period.
Shenzhou is a county-level city under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hengshui, Hebei province, China.
Beijing, alternatively romanized as Peking, is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 million residents within an administrative area of 16,410.5 km2. The city, located in Northern China, is governed as a municipality under the direct administration of the State Council with 16 urban, suburban, and rural districts. Beijing is mostly surrounded by Hebei Province with the exception of neighboring Tianjin to the southeast; together, the three divisions form the Jingjinji megalopolis and the national capital region of China.
Jing Chunhua is a former Chinese politician who spent most of his career in Hebei province. Beginning in 2008, Jing served as the Secretary-General of the Hebei Provincial Communist Party Committee, in charge of coordination and implementation. Prior to that, Jing served as party chief of Hengshui, a prefecture-level city. He was investigated in March 2015 by the Communist Party's anti-graft agency, suspected of corruption.
