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China Travel Guide » Places in China » Hebei Province
Places in China: Hebei Province
If you are going to Beijing, there is a good probability of also spending some time in Hebei Province since it surrounds the Beijing Municipal unit. Thus, it is a more northerly province in China so its weather is about the same as that in Beijing. Summers are long, warm and humid while winters are rather cool.
The climate in Hebei is good for agricultural uses so farming is very much in the economy of the province. Also, Hebei has steel and textile production. Kailuan is a big coal mining city in Hebei Province and has one of the nation's largest coal mines.
The provincial capital of Shijiazhuang is about one hundred fifty miles from Beijing and is a modern city which is a hub of the national railway network in China. The country's largest pharmaceutical company is located here as well as the national army's military academy. This is one of the better cities to visit besides Beijing if you want to see a progressive Chinese city.
Zhengding, only nine miles from Shijiazhuang, is another good place to visit in order to see the nation's largest copper Buddha statue. Longxing Temple is also located in Zhengding and is reported to be the oldest monastery in China.
Since the enlargement of the province by the addition of Chengde and Zhangjiakou, Hebei now extends to the north of the Great China Plain and some of the winding of the Great Wall of China.
The Tianjin Municipality is also within the borders of Hebei although, as Beijing, it is not considered to be a part of the Hebei Province.
A significant nature venue in Hebei is the Huang He or Yellow River. In fact, the name 'Hebei' means 'River North'. The province is highly dependent upon this river. Provinces which neighbour Hebei are Shandong, Inner Mongolia, Henan, Liaoning and Shanxi.
The population density of the province is around 363 persons per square kilometre with a total provincial population of sixty-eight million people. The land area of Hebei comes to nearly 79,000 square miles. Ninety-six percent of the people are Han with a smaller number of Manchu representing three percent of the population.
While in Shijiazhuang, a visit to the Hebei Provincial Museum has delightful collections including a terracotta army which was found in a local tomb as well as a full suit of armour made of jade. Other interesting places to visit are also found in Shijiazhuang. Visits to the cities of Chengde and Qinhuangdao provide several other worthwhile attractions.
Major cities in Hebei:
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