Shijiazhuang

Shijiazhuang (simplified Chinese: 石家庄; traditional Chinese: 石家莊; pinyin: Shíjiāzhuāng; literally "The Stones' Village") is a prefecture-level city and the capital of Hebei province, China. It is about 320 km south of Beijing. Shijiazhuang is a newly industrialized city. It experienced dramatic growth only after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 and was relatively unknown until then. Shijiazhuang stands on the edge of the Nort... more

Shijiazhuang (simplified Chinese: 石家庄; traditional Chinese: 石家莊; pinyin: Shíjiāzhuāng; literally "The Stones' Village") is a prefecture-level city and the capital of Hebei province, China. It is about 320 km south of Beijing. Shijiazhuang is a newly industrialized city. It experienced dramatic growth only after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 and was relatively unknown until then. Shijiazhuang stands on the edge of the North China Plain at the foot of the Taihang Mountains, which lie to the west. The city stands south of the Hutuo River. In pre-Han times (i.e., before 206 BC) it was the site of the city of Shihi in the state of Zhao, and, from Han (206 BC–AD 220) to Sui (581–618) times, it was the site of a county town with the same name. With the reorganization of local government in the early period of the Tang dynasty (618–907), the county was abolished. Shijiazhuang then became little more than a local market town, subordinated to the flourishing city of... less