Province's stunning history, scenery attract visitors

By Zhao Shijun | China Daily | Updated: 2017-07-14 09:19

With a great number of cultural legacies and natural wonders, the North China province of Hebei has a lot to offer tourists.

Every part of the province has impressive attractions that tourists cannot afford to miss.

One of the most gorgeous strongholds of the Great Wall, the Shanhai Pass, is located in Qinhuangdao city in northeastern Hebei.

The stronghold, also known as the Mountain and Sea Pass, is sometimes mistaken for the eastern end of the Great Wall. But it's not. The wall starts in Dandong, a city in neighboring Liaoning province.

But it's no exaggeration to say that it is one of the most strategic spots along the wall, as it controls both the land and sea passageway from the northeast, which was inhabited by nomads throughout history, to the southern parts of China where the farming Han people lived.

This is a storied landmark on China's tourism map.

It was associated with the rise of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) in 1644, when the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) government was overthrown by rebels.

The garrison commander of the Shanhai Pass, Wu Sangui, was hesitant to make a decision - to follow the rebels' new government or the Qing regime dominated by ethnic Nyuzhen people.

He hoped to have a reunion with his beautiful concubine and asked the rebels to send her to his garrison site.

But his demand was rejected and he became outraged. He opened the stronghold gate and the Qing cavalry flooded in and swept through China in months.

From the Shanhai Pass all the way to Zhangjiakou in the northwest of Hebei, the province has one of the best-preserved great wall sections in China, among which sites like Jinshanling, Zijingguan, Chajianling - to name just a few - are favored by sightseers and hikers.

Hebei was called Zhili during the Qing Dynasty. Zhili means an administrative region directly under the central government and also a military unit protecting neighboring Beijing, which was chosen by the Qing government as the national capital.

The Zhili governor's office is still kept intact in the central Hebei city of Baoding - which literally means "safeguarding peace". It is a now popular attraction for tourists.

Hebei's position in politics during the Qing Dynasty was second only to the capital city of Beijing.

Chengde in north Hebei was regarded by Qing rulers as the summer capital. The city, about 200 kilometers to the north of Beijing, is much cooler than the latter in summer.

The Chengde Mountain Resort is another central government compound used by Qing rulers in summer.

Emperor Xianfeng died at the mountain resort when escaping the invasion of British and French armies in the early 1860s, leaving his wife, Empress Dowager Cixi, ruling China for more than 40 years.

The mountain resort is also home to a magnificent royal garden, which might be the largest in the world, with a style similar to that of the Summer Palace in Beijing, but is larger.

After one or two days' of touring Chengde, tourists can go to Weichang county in its north, which is home to a large Qing Dynasty royal hunting range called Mulan Weichang.

The range, featuring both dense forests and vast grasslands, is currently regarded as a "photographers' paradise" with leaves changing color in autumn and the land covered by snow in winter.

In summer, both Chengde and Weichang are used by tourists as a summer resort to offer an escape from the heat in neighboring Beijing and Tianjin as well as the rest of the country.

Two counties in Hebei - Zunhua and Yixian - were selected by the Qing emperors as the sites of their royal family tombs because of their unique features in feng shui. Feng shui is the name given to a good surrounding environment that is believed to bring good luck to a family, and even a regime.

At the royal tomb sites in Zunhua and Yixian - which are called eastern and western Qing mausoleums, respectively - some of the tomb caves, including that of Cixi, were opened by bandits and robbers in the years following the end of the Qing Dynasty. So today's tourists can enter some of the caves to see for themselves what a royal tomb looks like inside.

In addition to the ancient cultures, the province also has special offerings to cater to the demands of modern-day tourists.

In Zhangjiakou, there are a number of ski resorts. These resorts are among the best in North China, earning the city the honor of hosting the 2022 Winter Olympic Games together with Beijing.

As the event approaches, services and facilities at the ski sites have been improving constantly, offering more convenience to winter sports enthusiasts.

The province also has many attractive natural landscapes.

The Taihang Mountains, stretching several hundred kilometers in the west of Hebei, has many imposing landscapes.

Yesanpo, part of Taihang in Laiyuan county, is home to a world geopark, featuring various rock formations and deep canyons.

Some sections of Taihang have steep and even perpendicular cliffs, so they are called the "Taihang Iron Walls". They can offer ideal venues for mountain climbers and other extreme sports enthusiasts.

The Taihong Iron Walls were also a symbol of the Chinese people's strong will to defend their country during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45).

The mountain ranges were used as bases for the Communist armies to fight against the Japanese. Many sites relating to the history are now also popular tourist attractions.

Baiyangdian Lake in central Hebei is regarded as the "pearl of North China" as it is both an ideal habitat for migrant birds and water animals, as well as a popular destination for tourists.

The Xiongan New Area, a nation-level new area recently endorsed by the central government, is on the northern coast of the lake.