Everything about Hebei totally explained
(;
Postal map spelling:
Hopeh) is a
northern province of the
People's Republic of China. Its one-
character abbreviation is "" (
pinyin: jì), named after
Ji Province (Jì Zhōu), a
Han Dynasty province (
zhou) that included southern Hebei. The name
Hebei means "north of
the (Yellow) River".
Zhili, meaning "Directly Ruled (by the Imperial Court)", was the name of Hebei before
1928.
Hebei completely surrounds
Beijing and
Tianjin municipalities (which also border each other). It borders
Liaoning to the northeast,
Inner Mongolia to the north,
Shanxi to the west,
Henan to the south, and
Shandong to the southeast.
Bohai Bay of the
Yellow Sea is to the east. A small part of Hebei, an
exclave disjointed from the rest of the province, is wedged between the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin.
A common alternate name for Hebei is
Yānzhào, after the
state of Yan and
state of Zhao that existed here during the
Warring States Period of early Chinese history.
History
Plains in Hebei were the home of
Peking man, a group of
Homo erectus that lived in the area around 200,000 to 700,000 years ago.
Neolithic findings at the
prehistoric Beifudi site date back to 7000 and 8000 BCE.
During the
Spring and Autumn Period (722 BC - 476 BC), Hebei was under the rule of the states of
Yan (燕) in the north and
Jin (晉) in the south. Also during this period, a nomadic people known as
Dí (狄) invaded the plains of northern China and established
Zhongshan (中山) in central Hebei. During the
Warring States Period (403 BC - 221 BC), Jin was partitioned, and much of its territory within Hebei went to
Zhao (赵).
The
Qin Dynasty unified China in
221 BC. The
Han Dynasty (
206 BC -
220 AD) ruled the area under two provinces (
zhou),
Youzhou Province (幽州) in the north and
Jizhou Province (冀州) in the south. At the end of the
Han Dynasty, most of Hebei came under the control of
warlords
Gongsun Zan in the north and
Yuan Shao further south;
Yuan Shao emerged victorious of the two, but he was soon defeated by rival
Cao Cao (based further south, in modern-day
Henan) in the
Battle of Guandu in
200. Hebei then came under the rule of the
Kingdom of Wei (one of the
Three Kingdoms), established by the descendants of
Cao Cao.
After the invasions of northern nomadic peoples at the end of the
Western Jin Dynasty, the chaos of the
Sixteen Kingdoms and the
Northern and Southern Dynasties ensued. Hebei, firmly in North China and right at the northern frontier, changed hands many times, being controlled at various points in history by the
Later Zhao,
Former Yan,
Former Qin, and
Later Yan. The
Northern Wei reunified northern China in
440, but split in half in
534, with Hebei coming under the eastern half (first the
Eastern Wei; then the
Northern Qi), which had its capital at Ye (鄴), near modern
Linzhang, Hebei. The
Sui Dynasty again unified China in
589.
During the
Tang Dynasty (
618 -
907) the area was formally designated "Hebei" (north of the Yellow River) for the first time. During the earlier part of the
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, Hebei was fragmented among several regimes, though it was eventually unified by
Li Cunxu, who established the
Later Tang Dynasty (
923 -
936). The next dynasty, the
Later Jin Dynasty under Shi Jingtang, posthumously known as Emperor
Gaozu of Later Jin, ceded much of modern-day northern Hebei to the
Khitan Liao Dynasty in the north; this territory, called The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, became a major weakness in
China's defense against the Khitans for the next century, since it lay within the
Great Wall.
During the
Northern Song Dynasty (
960 -
1127), the sixteen ceded prefectures continued to be an area of hot contention between Song China and the
Liao Dynasty. The
Southern Song Dynasty that came after abandoned all of
North China, including Hebei, to the
Jurchen Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) in
1127.
The
Mongol Yuan Dynasty divided China into provinces but didn't establish Hebei as a province. The
Ming Dynasty ruled Hebei as "Beizhili" (北直隸,
pinyin: Běizhílì), meaning "Northern Directly Ruled", because the area contained and was directly ruled by the imperial capital,
Beijing; the "Northern" designation was used because there was a southern counterpart covering present-day
Jiangsu and
Anhui. When the
Manchu Qing Dynasty came to power in
1644, they abolished the southern counterpart, and Hebei became known as "Zhili", or simply "Directly Ruled". During the Qing Dynasty, the northern borders of Zhili extended deep into what is now
Inner Mongolia, and overlapped in jurisdiction with the
leagues of Inner Mongolia.
The
Qing Dynasty collapsed in
1912 and was replaced by the
Republic of China. Within a few years, China descended into civil war, with regional warlords vying for power. Since Zhili was so close to Peking (
Beijing), the capital, it was the site of frequent wars, including the
Zhiwan War, the
First Zhifeng War and the
Second Zhifeng War. With the success of the
Northern Expedition, a successful campaign by the
Kuomintang to end the rule of the warlords, the capital was moved from Peking (
Beijing) to Nanking (
Nanjing). As a result, the name of Zhili was changed to Hebei to reflect that fact that it had a standard provincial administration, and that the capital had been relocated elsewhere.
The founding of the
People's Republic of China saw several changes: the region around
Chengde, previously part of
Rehe Province (historically part of
Manchuria), and the region around
Zhangjiakou, previously part of
Chahar Province (historically part of
Inner Mongolia), were merged into Hebei, extending its borders northwards beyond the Great Wall. The capital was also moved from
Baoding to the upstart city of
Shijiazhuang, and, for a short period, to
Tianjin.
On
July 28,
1976,
Tangshan was struck by a powerful
earthquake, the
Tangshan earthquake, the deadliest of the
20th century with over 240,000 killed. A series of smaller earthquakes struck the city in the following decade.
In
2005, Chinese archaeologists unearthed what is being called the Chinese equivalent of
Italy's
Pompeii. The find in question, located near Liumengchun Village (柳孟春村) in
Cang County in east-central Hebei, is a buried settlement destroyed nearly 700 years ago by a major earthquake. Another possible explanation may be the four successive floods which hit the area around the time when the settlement met its sudden end. The settlement appears to have been a booming commercial center during the
Song Dynasty.
(External Link
)
Geography
Most of central and southern Hebei lies within the
North China Plain. The western part of Hebei rises into the
Taihang Mountains (Taihang Shan), while the
Yan Mountains (Yan Shan) run through northern Hebei, beyond which lie the grasslands of
Inner Mongolia. The
Great Wall of China cuts through northern Hebei from east to west as well, briefly entering the border of Beijing Municipality, and terminates at the seacoast of
Shanhaiguan in northeastern Hebei. The highest peak is
Mount Xiaowutai in northwestern Hebei, with an altitude of 2882
m.
Hebei borders
Bohai Sea on the east. The
Hai He watershed covers most of the province's central and southern parts, and the
Luan He watershed covers the northeast. Not counting the numerous reservoirs to be found in Hebei's hills and mountains, the largest lake in Hebei is
Baiyangdian, located mostly in
Anxin County.
Hebei has a
continental monsoon climate, with temperatures of -16 to -3 °C in January and 20 - 27 °C in July, and with annual
precipitation of 400 to 800 mm, occurring mostly in
summer.
Major cities:
Administrative divisions
Hebei is made up of 11 prefecture-level divisions, which are all
prefecture-level cities:
Shijiazhuang (石家庄市 : Shíjiāzhuāng Shì)
Tangshan (唐山市 : Tángshān Shì)
Qinhuangdao (秦皇岛市 : Qínhuángdǎo Shì)
Handan (邯郸市 : Hándān Shì)
Xingtai (邢台市 : Xíngtái Shì)
Baoding (保定市 : Bǎodìng Shì)
Zhangjiakou (张家口市 : Zhāngjiākǒu Shì)
Chengde (承德市 : Chéngdé Shì)
Cangzhou (沧州市 : Cāngzhōu Shì)
Langfang (廊坊市 : Lángfáng Shì)
Hengshui (衡水市 : Héngshuǐ Shì)
These are subdivided into 172 county-level divisions (22 county-level cities, 108 counties, 6 autonomous counties and 36 districts). Those are, in turn, divided into 2207 township-level divisions (1 district public office, 937 towns, 979 townships, 55 ethnic townships, and 235 subdistricts).
For a complete list of the county-level divisions of Hebei, see List of administrative divisions of Hebei.
Politics
The politics of Hebei is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China.
The Governor of Hebei is the highest ranking official in the People's Government of Hebei. However, in the province's dual party-government governing system, the Governor has less power than the Hebei Communist Party of China Provincial Committee Secretary, colloquially termed the "Hebei CPC Party Chief".
Economy
In 2006, Hebei's GDP was 1.16 trillion yuan (US$146.8 billion), an increase of 12.9% over the previous year and ranked 6th in the PRC. GDP per capita reached 16,570 Renminbi. Disposable income per capita in urban areas was 7951 RMB, while rural pure income per capita was 3171 RMB. The primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors of industry contributed 137.04 billion, 470.34 billion, and 276.32 billion RMB respectively. The registered unemployment rate was 4%. (External Link)
Hebei's main agricultural products are cereal crops including wheat, maize, millet, and sorghum. Cash crops like cotton, peanut, soya bean and sesame are also produced.
Kailuan, with a history of over 100 years, is one of China's first modern coal mines, and remains a major mine with an annual production of over 20 million metric tonnes. Much of the North China Oilfield is found in Hebei, and there are also major iron mines at Handan and Qian'an.
Hebei's industries include textiles, coal, steel, iron, engineering, chemical production, petroleum, power, ceramics and food.
Demographics
The population is mostly Han Chinese with minorities of Mongol, Manchu, and Hui Chinese.
Excludes members of the People's Liberation Army in active service.
Source: Department of Population, Social, Science and Technology Statistics of the National Bureau of Statistics of China (国家统计局人口和社会科技统计司) and Department of Economic Development of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission of China (国家民族事务委员会经济发展司), eds. Tabulation on Nationalities of 2000 Population Census of China (《2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料》). 2 vols. Beijing: Nationalities Publishing House (民族出版社), 2003. (ISBN 7-105-05425-5)
In 2004, the birth rate was 11.98 births/1000 population, while the death rate was 6.19 births/1000 population. The sex ratio was 104.52 males/100 females. (External Link)
Culture
Dialects of Mandarin are spoken over most of the province, and most Mandarin dialects in Hebei are in turn classified as part of the Ji Lu Mandarin subdivision. Regions along the western border with Shanxi, however, have dialects that are distinct enough for linguists to consider them as part of Jin, another subdivision of Chinese, rather than Mandarin. In general, the dialects of Hebei are quite similar to and readily intelligible with the Beijing dialect, which forms the basis for Standard Mandarin, the official language of the nation. However, there are also some distinct differences, such as differences in the pronunciation of certain words that derive from entering tone syllables (syllables ending on a plosive) in Middle Chinese.
Traditional forms of Chinese opera in Hebei include Pingju, Hebei Bangzi, and Cangzhou Kuaiban Dagu. Pingju is especially popular: it tends to be colloquial in language and hence easy to understand for audiences. Originating from northeastern Hebei, Pingju has been influenced by other forms of Chinese opera like Beijing opera. Traditionally Pingju makes use of just a xiaosheng (young male lead), a xiaodan (young female lead), and a xiaohualian (young comic character), though it has since diversified with the use of other roles as well.
Quyang County, in central Hebei, is famous for its Dingzhou porcelain, which includes various vessels such as bowls, plates, vases, and cups, as well as figurines. Dingzhou porcelain is usually creamy white, though it's also made in other colours.
Hebei cuisine is typically based on wheat, mutton and beans.
Famous people born in Hebei Province include:
Feng Dao (881-954), Confucian minister
Yan Yuan (1635-1704), Confucian philosopher
Chi Jushan (1876-1962), playwright and scholar
Media
Hebei is served by Hebei Television.
Transportation
Hebei surrounds Beijing, so many important railway lines radiating out of Beijing pass through Hebei. The Jingguang Railway (Beijing-Guangzhou) is one of the most important: it passes through many major cities like Baoding, Shijiazhuang, Xingtai and Handan on its way through Hebei from north to south. Other important railways include the Jingjiu Railway (Beijing-Kowloon), the Jinghu Railway (Beijing-Shanghai), the Jingha Railway (Beijing-Harbin), and the Jingbao Railway (Beijing-Baotou).
The recent expressway boom in China hasn't left Hebei behind. There are expressways to every prefecture-level city of Hebei except Chengde, totalling to approximately 2000 kilometers. The total length of highways within Hebei is around 40,000 kilometers.
There are a number of ports along the Bohai Sea, including Qinhuangdao (the second busiest in China with a capacity of over 100 million tons), Huanghua, and Jingtang. Shijiazhuang's Zhengding Airport is the province's center of air transportation, with domestic and international flights.
Tourism
The east end of the Ming Great Wall is located on the coast at Shanhaiguan (Shanhai Pass), near Qinhuangdao. Informally known as the "First Pass of The World" (天下第一關), Shanhaiguan was the place where Ming general Wu Sangui opened the gates to Manchu forces in 1644, beginning nearly 300 years of Manchu rule; Shanhai Pass also marks the psychological entrance / exit of Manchuria, so that for centuries Manchuria was known as "outside the Pass" or "east of the Pass". Beidaihe, located near Shanhaiguan, is a popular beach resort wellknown as a former meeting place for top governmental officials.
The Ming Great Wall crosses the northern part of Hebei.
The Chengde Mountain Resort and its outlying temples are a World Heritage Site. Also known as the Rehe Palace, this was the summer resort of the Manchu Qing Dynasty emperors. The Chengde Resort was built between 1703 and 1792, and consists of a palace complex, a large park area consisting of lakes, pavilions, causeways, bridges, etc., and a number of Tibetan Buddhist and Han Chinese temples in the surrounding area.
There are Qing Dynasty imperial tombs at Zunhua (East Qing Tombs) and Yixian (West Qing Tombs). The East Qing Tombs is the resting place of 161 Qing emperors, empresses, and other members of the Qing imperial family, while the West Qing Tombs has 76. These are also part of a World Heritage Site.
The Zhaozhou Anji Bridge, built by Li Chun during the Sui Dynasty, is the oldest stone arch bridge in China, and one of the most significant examples of pre-modern Chinese civil engineering.
Baoding, the old provincial capital, contains the historical Zhili Governor's Residence.
Xibaipo, a village about 90 km from Shijiazhuang, was the location of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the headquarters of the People's Liberation Army during the decisive stages of the Chinese Civil War between May 26, 1948 and March 23, 1949, at which point they were moved to Beijing. Today, the area houses a memorial site.
Miscellaneous topics
Sports teams based in Hebei include:
Chinese Basketball Association
There are no teams based in Hebei.
Chinese Football Association
There are no teams based in Hebei.
Colleges and universities
Under the national Ministry of Education:
North China Electric Power University (华北电力大学)
Under other national agencies:
Central Institute for Correctional Police (中央司法警官学院)
Chinese People's Armed Police Force Academy (中国人民武装警察部队学院)
North China Institute of Science and Technology (华北科技学院)
Under the provincial government:
Chengde Medical College (承德医学院)
Handan College (邯郸学院)
Hebei Agricultural University (河北农业大学)
Hebei Engineering University (河北工程大学)
Hebei Institute of Architecture and Civil Engineering (河北建筑工程学院)
Hebei Medical University (河北医科大学)
Hebei Normal University (河北师范大学)
Hebei Normal University of Science and Technology (河北科技师范学院)
Hebei North University (河北北方学院)
Hebei Physical Educational Institute (河北体育学院)
Hebei Polytechnic University (河北理工大学)
Hebei University (河北大学)
Hebei University of Economics and Business (河北经贸大学)
Hebei University of Technology (河北工业大学)
Hebei University of Science and Technology (河北科技大学)
Hengshui University (衡水学院)
Langfang Teacher's College (廊坊师范学院)
North China Coal Medical College (华北煤炭医学院)
Shijiazhuang College (石家庄学院)
Shijiazhuang Railway Institute (石家庄铁道学院)
Shijiazhuang University of Economics (石家庄经济学院)
Tangshan College (唐山学院)
Tangshan Teacher's College (唐山师范学院)
Xingtai University (邢台学院)
Yanshan University (燕山大学)
Footnotes
Further Information
Get more info on 'Hebei'.
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