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Hebei
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Hebei
Not to be confused with the unrelated province of Hubei

Hebei (河北 Hanyu Pinyin: Hébĕi, Wade-Giles: Ho-pei, Postal system pinyin: Hopeh), is a northern province of the People's Republic of China. Its one-character abbreviation is Ji (冀 pinyin: jì), named after Ji Prefecture (冀州 Jì Zhōu), a Han Dynasty prefecture that included southern Hebei. The name Hebei means "north of the (Yellow) River", even though its modern border does not touch the Yellow River at any point. Hebei surrounds Beijing and Tianjin municipalities. 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.

河北省
Héběi Shěng
Abbreviation: 冀 (pinyin: Jì)
Origin of Name河 hé - (Yellow) River
北 běi - north
"Yellow River's north"
Capital and Largest City Shijiazhuang
Area
 - Total
 - % of national
 - % water 		Ranked 12th
187,700 km²
1.96%
xx%
Population
 - Total (2001)
 - % of national
 - Density 		Ranked 6th
66,990,000
5.25%
353/km²
GDP in RMB¥
 - Total (2002)
 - % of national
 - per capita 		Ranked 6th
607.66 billion ¥
5.93%
9071 ¥
Administration Type Province
GovernorJi Yunshi
CPC Hebei Committee SecretaryBai Keming
Prefecture-level subdivisions11
County-level subdivisions172
Township-level subdivisions2207
ISO 3166-2CN-13

Table of contents
1 History
2 Geography
3 Administrative Divisions
4 Economy
5 Demographics
6 Culture
7 Tourism
8 Miscellaneous topics
9 External links

History

Plains in Hebei were the home of Peking man, a group of Homo erectus, 450 thousand years ago.

During the Warring States Period (403 BC - 221 BC), Hebei was under the rule of the states of Yan (燕 yān) in the north and Zhao (赵 zhào) in the south. The Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) ruled the area under two prefectures, Youzhou (幽州 Yōuzhōu) in the north and Jizhou (冀州 Jìzhōu) in the south. During the Tang Dynasty (618-907) the area was formally designated "Hebei" (Yellow River's north). During the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), northern Hebei was an area of hot contention between Song China and the Liao Dynasty.

During the Qing dynasty, the province was called Zhili (直隸, pinyin: Zhílì, Wade-Giles: Chih-li), meaning "Directly Ruled (by the Imperial Court)". In 1928, the name was changed to its current name to reflect that fact that it had a standard provincial administration.

On July 28, 1976, Tangshan was struck by a powerful earthquake, the deadliest of the 20th century with over 240,000 killed. A series of smaller earthquakes struck the city in the following decade.

Geography

Hebei is bordered by the Yan Mountains (Yan Shan) in the north and Taihang Mountains (Taihang Shan) in the west, while the southeast forms part of the North China Plain. The highest peak is Mount Xiaowutai 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.

Hebei has a continental monsoon climate, with annual rainfall of 400 to 800 mm. It often rains heavily in summer. Spring may be a time for sandstorms.

Major cities:

Administrative Divisions

Hebei contains eleven prefecture-level cities:

For a complete list of the county-level divisions of Hebei, see List of administrative divisions of Hebei.

Economy

Main agricultural productions are grain and cotton. Cereal crops product include wheat, corn, millet and Chinese sorghum. Hebei is responsible for most of the cotton produced in China. Other industrial crops like peanut, soya bean and sesame are also produced.

Large quantities of coal and iron can be found in Hebei.

Hebei's industries mainly include textiles, coal, steel, iron, engineering industry, chemical production, petroleum, electricity, ceramics and food.

In 2003:
GDP: 709.54 billion Renminbi
GDP per capita: 10508 Renminbi
GDP growth rate: 11.6%
Employment by industry (primary/secondary/tertiary) (2001): 49.6% / 25.4% / 25.0%

Demographics

The population is mostly Han Chinese with minorities of Mongol, Manchu, Korean, and Hui Chinese.

In 2001:
Birth rate: 11.16 births/1000 population
Death rate: 6.18 births/1000 population
Sex ratio: 103.63 males/100 females
Average family size: 3.59
Illiteracy rate (total/male/female): 8.59% / 6.47% / 10.76%

Culture

Dialects of Mandarin are spoken over most of the province, except along the western border, where dialects of Jin-yu, another subdivision of Chinese, are spoken instead.
(Jin-yu is sometimes classified as a subdivision of Mandarin. For more information, see Chinese spoken language.)

Traditional forms of musical performing arts in Hebei include Pingju, Hebei Bangzi, and Cangzhou Kuaiban Dagu. Traditional arts and crafts include Dingzhou porcelain.

Tourism

The east end of the Ming Great Wall is located on the coast at Shanhaiguan, near Qinhuangdao. The Ming Great Wall crosses the northern part of the province. Beidaihe, located nearby, is a popular beach resort.

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 Qing Dynasty emperors.

Also, there are Qing Dynasty imperial tombs at Zunhua (East Qing Tombs) and Yixian (West Qing Tombs). Tnese are also part of a World Heritage Site.

The Zhaozhou Anji Bridge, built 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 Chinese Communist Party 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.

Having the most number of national highways, Hebei's total highway length is more than 40 thousand kilometers. Hebei also has the highest coverage of railways in the country. There are railways to Guangzhou, Harbin, Baotou, Nanjing, Shanghai, Jiujiang, Jinan and others. Shijiazhuang and Shanhaiguan are two main railway transportation centers. Qinhuangdao is one of the busiest port in northern China. Shijiazhuang is also the center of air transportation.

Miscellaneous topics

Sports teams based in Hebei include:

Chinese Football Association
There are no teams based in Hebei.

Chinese Basketball Association
There are no teams based in Hebei.

Colleges and Universities

Under the national Ministry of Education:

Under other national agencies: Under the provincial government:

External links


[ Edit {}] Province-level divisions of the People's Republic of China
Provinces¹: Anhui | Fujian | Gansu | Guangdong | Guizhou | Hainan | Hebei | Heilongjiang | Henan | Hubei | Hunan | Jiangsu | Jiangxi | Jilin | Liaoning | Qinghai | Shaanxi | Shandong | Shanxi | Sichuan | Yunnan | Zhejiang
Autonomous Regions;: Guangxi | Inner Mongolia | Ningxia | Tibet | Xinjiang
Municipalities: Beijing | Chongqing | Shanghai | Tianjin
Special Administrative Regions;: Hong Kong | Macau
¹ See also: Political status of Taiwan