Handan
(Hebei Online)
Updated: 2004-07-15 10:51

Handan, a famous historical and cultural city, enjoys both ancient civilization and modern character. It has a lot of profound idioms and allusions such as "learn the Handan walk"(from the parable in Zhuangzi about a youth who intended to learn the way Handan people walked, but finally forgot his own and had to crawl back home), Golden Millet Dream (from the story of a poor scholar who dreamt he had become an official, but awoke to find the pot of golden millet still being cooked on the fire) and also many places of historic interest, memorial temples, tablets with inscriptions and grottoes, which relate over 3,000 years"brilliant history and culture of the city.

Handan is on the southern border of Hebei Pro-vince, with the Taihang Mountains to the west and the North China Plain to the east. Located at the juncture of Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong and Henan provinces, it is 440 kilometers away from Beijing, the capital of China, and 170 kilometers away from Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei Province.

The profound historic foundation, plentiful cultural details and complex landforms provide Handan with a special variety of tourist resources. In the Warring States period, Handan was the capital of the State of Zhao, one of the seven strongest states which saw eight generations of emperors in its 158 years"history.

Wuling Congtai Terrace, Huichexiang (the lane where Lin Xiangru backed his carriage), Xuebuqiao (the bridge where a youth learned how to walk as Handan people) and the site of the city of Emperor Zhao all reflect the bold and unconstrained keynote of Zhao culture with its moving and tragic aspects.

During the period of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern dynasties, Yecheng became prosperous. Cao Cao, a statesman, strategist and poet with great talent and broad vision, once occupied this city and built the Three Terraces in Yecheng, among which the most famous is Copper Sparrow Terrace. Yecheng, therefore, is regarded as the cradle of Jian'sn Literature."

The People of the Northern Qi Dynasty advocated Buddhism. They chose places with beautiful mountains and clear waters, cut grottoes and built temples, thus leaving typical works of grotto art in China, such as the Northern and Southern Xiangtangshan Grottoes, Shuiyu Temple, Laoyeshan Stone Inscription, Wahuang Palace Grotto, etc. They are grand in scale, delicate in inscription and vivid in style.

During the Tang and Song dynasties, Damingfu in Handan was "one of the most important counties in Hebei" Wuliji Stone Tablet is so grand that it is consi-dered rare throughout the country.

Within the period of the Song and Yuan dynasties, Cizhou Kiln was the outstanding representative of the folk kilns in North China. It developed its own colors with rich and varied painting decoration and natural and bold artistic style.

In the late Qing Dynasty,Yang Luchan and Wu Yuxiang, masters of Taji quan, were born here. The Taiji of Yang and Wu style is famous at home and abroad for its combination of gentleness and strength. It also makes Yongnian County known to the world as "the home of Taiji."

During the Anti-Japanese War, the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army led by Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping drove into the Taihang Mountains and fought and lived in Shexian County for 5 years.

Now, a lot of sites of revolutionary history and culture still exist, represented by the site of the Headquarters of the 129th Division. Touring in Handan will make you feel like crossing a time tunnel, experiencing the changes of history, and feeling the profound cultural foundations accumulated in the past 3,000 years.

Having experienced the dignified process of history, you can go to the Taihang Mountains to the west of Handan and appreciate the graceful scenery of mountains and waters. Mount Wuhua, Ancient Mount Wudang and Mount Lufeng exhibit infinite gracefulness along with their steepness. Jingniang Lake is set amidst surrounding mountains and winding rivers and has a qua-lity suggestive of poetry and painting.

Traveling in Longevity Village, you will experience the honest and simple folkways in the Taihang Mountains.

Handan not only retains the features of an ancient city, but also has modern style. In this city, there are nearly 20 star rated-hotels with perfect facilities and satisfactory service. In recent years, farmers have developed their tourist industry and opened family hotels in the mountain to let you experience "farmers"delight."

It is another kind of fun to live in stone houses and have farmers"meals. If you want to take a guided tour, you can contact the travel agency. Nearly 40 travel agencies in the city are available to you.

You can't visit Handan without tasting the local delicacies, such as Yilouyou jiaozi, Quzhou imperial noodles, Ermao roast chickens, Wubaiju sausage, Guoba baked wheaten cake, Yongnian thoroughly cooked fish, donkey meat sausage and Wu'sn hand-stretched noodles. They are all delicious local traditional foods. Either in star hotels or in small pubs by the street, you can enjoy the gourmet's luck.

Handan is famous for its local products such as Congtai wine, Guantao black pottery, Fengfeng ceramics, Daming roast peanuts, Xiaomo sesame oil, Yongnian mung bean sheet jelly, Shexian walnuts, persimmons, Chinese prickly ash, chestnuts, Linzhang braised rabbit,etc.These can be bought conveniently in such grand stores as New Century, Wanda, Hanshan, Meishilin.

As the thoroughfare and communications hub of four provinces, Handan is crossed by Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, Beijing-Shenzhen Expressway and G107 from north to south and Handan-Changzhi Railway, Handan-Jinan Railway and G309 from east to west. Every day there are 6 high-speed coaches from Handan to Beijing and four passenger trains between the two cities.

The touring lines of the city reach all scenic spots, and provide convenient transportation for tourists. The buses can take you to each scenic spot. During the tourist season, the special lines reach the western mountainous area directly and ensure that you can come and go at any time and enjoy yourself.

Traveling in Handan, you can ask the Tourist Bureau for help if necessary. The telephone number is 86-310-3216667.

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