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Hebei
(; 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 Zh?u), a Han Dynasty province (zhou) that included southern Hebei. The name Hebei means "north of the (Yellow) River".[1] 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 Y?nzhào (), after the state of Yan and state of Zhao that existed here during the Warring States Period of early Chinese history.
HistoryPlains 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.[2] During the Spring and Autumn Period (722 BC - 476 BC), Hebei was under the rule of the states of Yan (?) in the north and Jin (?) in the south. Also during this period, a nomadic people known as Dí (?) invaded the plains of northern China and established Zhongshan (??) 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 (?). The Qin Dynasty unified China in 221 BC. The Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) ruled the area under two provinces (zhou), Youzhou Province (??) in the north and Jizhou Province (??) 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. 
1500-year-old iron lion in Cangzhou 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 Putuo Zongcheng Temple of Chengde, Hebei, built in 1771 during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. 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 (????) 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. Geography
Saihanba National Park in Inner Moglian plateau grassland border, north Chengde, Hebei Province 
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
Langyashan (Wolf Tooth Mount), in Yi County, Hebei. Hebei is made up of 11 prefecture-level divisions, which are all prefecture-level cities:
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. PoliticsThe 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". EconomyIn 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%. 
Downtown Shijiazhuang. 
A corner in downtown Zhangjiakou. 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. DemographicsThe population is mostly Han Chinese with minorities of Mongol, Manchu, and Hui Chinese.
Excludes members of the People's Liberation Army in active service. 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. Culture
The giant Bodhisattva statue of Puning Temple, Chengde, Hebei province, built in 1755 under the Qianlong Emperor. 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 is also made in other colours. Hebei cuisine is typically based on wheat, mutton and beans. Famous people born in Hebei Province include:
MediaHebei is served by Hebei Television. TransportationHebei 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 has not 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 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. SportsSports teams based in Hebei include: Chinese Basketball Association Chinese Football Association Colleges and universitiesUnder the national Ministry of Education: Under other national agencies:
Under the provincial government:
See alsoNotesExternal links
ar:??? zh-min-nan:Hô-pak bg:????? ca:Hebei cs:Che-pej da:Hebei de:Hebei et:Hebei es:Hebei eo:Hebejo eu:Hebei fa:???? fr:Hebei ga:Hebei gv:Hebei ko:??? ? hi:????? id:Hebei it:Hebei he:???? sw:Hebei lt:Hebei hu:Hebei ms:Hebei nl:Hebei ja:??? no:Hebei pl:Hebei pt:Hebei ro:Hebei ru:????? fi:Hebei sv:Hebei tl:Hebei th:???????????? vi:Hà B?c (Trung Qu?c) wa:Hebei zh-yue:?? zh:??? Source: Wikipedia | The above article is available under the GNU FDL. | Edit this article
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