Category: Hebei

This small city in the craggy mountains north of Beijing used to shelter Qing Dynasty notables (including the empress dowager Ci Xi), from Beijing’s summer heat. The inner city is like something fresh out of the mountains, and most of the locals have seldom seen foreigners. But the city is surrounded by things for travelers…

A Garden-Style Imperial Palace Even a luxurious imperial palace is still too small a palace compared with the colorful outside world, so all emperors throughout history – usually confined to this small “cage” for most of their lifetime – were keen on inspection tours, thus giving rise to innumerable temporary palaces throughout the country in…

A Rising Industrial Port City Situated at the foot of Yanshan Mountain, facing the Bohai Sea, Qinhuangdao  is famous for its ice-free harbour, the summer resort Beidaihe and the First Pass Under Heaven.Qinhuangdao was approved by the State Council in April 1984 as one of the 14 coastal cities that were opened furth to the outside…

Beidaihe is a famous and scenic summer resort located at the southwest of Qinhuangdao Municipality. An alluring coastal village with a small-town ambience, it provides a welcome break from city life. Its charm lies mostly in the lively inhabitants, bustling night stalls and, of course, the seaside views. From long stretches of pebbled sand to…

Beidaihe (Peitaiho) is one of the better-known summer resorts on China’s east coast. As I approach Jieshi Hill from the west. The boundless sea extends before me. Above soughs the autumn wind. The insurmountable waters swell below. These lines, written by the famous statesman-poet Cao Cao (155-220) to commemorate his visit to Beidaihe, testify that…

Four kilometers south of Shanhaiguan, Laolongtou is the easternmost end of the Great Wall, which stretches 23 meters into the sea like a dragon drinking water, hence its name. This part of the Great Wall was built in the 7 th year of Wanli reign in the Ming dynasty (1579) and was mended in the…

Shanhaiguan is a small, sleepy town and port of the northern section of the Bohai gulf, holding the access between northeast China and north China. Shanhai Pass, 15 kilometers from the tourist city of Qinhuangdao, got its name from being situated between the Yanshan Mountains and the Bohai Sea. Built in 583, it was renovated…

Hebei Province, with its beautiful Capital, Shijiazhuang, is located to the north of the Yellow River, and to the east of the Taihang Mountains. Hebei is somewhat overshadowed by its neighbors, Beijing and Tianjin, whose vastness covers an area of 190,000 square kilometers, and its vibrant population is estimated to be at 67,440,000. Hebei’s long…

Snaking along the meandering mountains for thousands of kilometres from North China’s Hebei Province to Northwest China’s Gansu Province, the Great Wall has remained a symbol of human ingenuity and Chinese civilization. As highways and roads are built leading deep into the previously inaccessible mountains, people have discovered more ruins of the Great Wall. For…

At dusk, a small bird with enchanting black eyes, perched on a tiny branch, elegantly and leisurely plumbs its wings. It did not seem to mind that a little more than 10 metres away, several people were excitedly watching it through telescopes and binoculars. “This is the band-billed crake, remember the dark red colour of…

Qinhuangdao is situated near a section of the Beijing – Shenyang Railway Line in the northeastern part of Hebei Province. It borders the Yanshan Mountains in the north and Bohai Bay in the south. One of north China’s ice-free natural harbors, it abounds in fish, prawns, and other aquatic products. The famous health resort, Beidaihe…

Situated on the coast of Bohai Bay in northeast Hebei Province in North China, Qinhuangdao has long been famous as an ideal summer resort because of its pleasant scenery and culture. Laolongtou Qinhuangdao (“Qin Emperor Island”) is where the Great Wall protrudes into the sea like a dragon drinking water. Laolongtou (“dragon head”), is the…

The Tangshan Hot Springs are situated about 30 kilometers north of Beijing proper on the road leading to the eastern range of the Western Hills. The springs can be reached by regional bus from downtown area. Tangshan Mountains are made up of two solitary peaks with screen-covered slopes: Greater Tangshan Mountain, with its needle-like crags;…

Outside the walls of the Chengde Imperial Dwelling Palace, temples in the Tibetan, Han and Mongolian styles are found scattered among the nearby hills. Built on a larger scale than any of the temples of Beijing, they are collectively known as the Eight Temples Beyond the Great Wall (Waibamiao); In fact, there were originally 11…

Probably the most famous of all of China’s mountains is the mystical magic of the peaks of the Yellow Mountain (Huang shan). Immortalized in ancient and modern Chinese art, this area of hanging mists, sharply rising ledges and gnarled pines is of outstanding beauty, and is considered by most Chinese as an essential tourist destination.…