Shijiazhuang

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Shijiazhuang (石家庄 Shíjiāzhuāng) is the capital of Hebei province.

Shijiazhuang is a young city. It was an unimportant town until the building of the ZhengTai and JingHan railways saw it become an important regional transport hub. Captured by the PLA under the leadership of the CPC in 1947, it was the cradle of the new China, and for three years housed the headquarters of the CPC.

Nowadays it's the capital and main economic center of Hebei province and a relatively important city in China. Shijiazhuang is the largest pharmarceutical base in China and is as well an important center in the textile, IT, manufacturing and chemical industries. In 2007, it was listed as one of the top 15 economic powers in China.

According to the latest census figures, Shijiazhuang has a population of 2.19 million in the city proper, with a further 7.4 million people living in its 20 affiliated counties.

[edit] Understand

[edit] Get in

By Air, flights from Hong Kong to Shijiazhuang International Airport is currently available. In addition,as one of the largest railway transportation hubs in China, there are many trains to and from Shijiazhuang. From 2007, intercity Multipile Unit fast trains are available from Major neigbouring cities, including Beijing. The road network is as well quite good and SJZ can be reached from Beijing by car in about 3 hours.

[edit] Get around

The joy of traveling in SJZ, as in any large city in China, is that buses are frequent and cheap: just one yuan for a journey, whatever the distance.

Taxis are plentiful and, again, will seem to Western travelers almost laughably inexpensive, with the flag-drop often just 5 yuan or so.

[edit][add listing] See

There are a number of sightseeing places in the area, both natural and historic. The best places to visit are the Buddhist temple and ancient stone bridge in Xaoxian county about 30 minutes drive form the centre of SJZ, and the really beautiful Cangyan Mountain (90 minutes drive) with picture postcard temples built on the steep hillsides. There is a pavilion built on a bridge over a gorge that was filed in the final scenes of the Oscar winning film "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon".

[edit][add listing] Do

As a young industrial city, Shijiazhuang city proper is generally considered to have relatively few sights of historical or cultural interest. Exceptions are:

However, several sites of historical and cultural significance are located in the surrounding area, including:

  • Longxing Monastery in Zhengding, 15 kilometers to the north. The Longxing Monastery (Chinese: 隆興寺; pinyin: Longxing Si) is an ancient Buddhist monastery located near the town of Zhengding in Hebei Province, China, approximately 15 kilometers north of the provincial capital of Shijiazhuang. It has been referred to as the "First Temple south of Beijing".

[edit][add listing] Buy

Aggregated with 3 China top 10 wholesale markets, it is a good place for shopping for cheaper stuff. There are also a number of very large modern western-style department stores. The biggest of these is the "Bei Guo" centre in the middle of the city just down the road from the "People's Park".

[edit][add listing] Eat

For a fantastic authentic Chinese feast you cannot go past the restaurant "Hebei House".

[edit][add listing] Drink

The good citizens of Shijiazhuang enjoy the chinese alcohol made from rice "Bai Jiu" or white spirit. It is a strong drink and you need develop an acquired taste. You will surely get to try some whenever you eat out with Chinese friends.

A bar called 'Scotland Bar' is the most popular hang-out for the city's small community of Western expats, these mostly English teachers or visiting students at the city's universities.

[edit][add listing] Sleep

[edit] Get out

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