Shijiazhuang.html |
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| Shijiazhuang 石家庄 |
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| — Prefecture-level city — | |||||||||
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  Shijiazhuang
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| Coordinates: | |||||||||
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| Country | China | ||||||||
| Province | Hebei | ||||||||
| City seat | Chang'an | ||||||||
| Government | |||||||||
| - Party Secretary | Wu Xianguo (吴显国) | ||||||||
| - Mayor | Ji Chuntang (冀纯堂) | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
| - Prefecture-level city | 15,848 km² (6,118.9 sq mi) | ||||||||
| - Urban | 455 km² (175.7 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Elevation | 83 m (272 ft) | ||||||||
| Population (2004) | |||||||||
| - Prefecture-level city | 9,090,200 | ||||||||
| - Density | 573.6/km² (1,485.6/sq mi) | ||||||||
| - Urban | 2,172,800 | ||||||||
| - Urban Density | 4,775.4/km² (12,368.2/sq mi) | ||||||||
| Time zone | UTC + 8, H (UTC+8) | ||||||||
| Postal code | 050000 | ||||||||
| License Plate Prefix | 冀A | ||||||||
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| Website: http://www.sjz.gov.cn/ | |||||||||
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.
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Geography
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.
History
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 Zhengding (modern Zhengding) a few miles to the north.
The growth of Shijiazhuang into one of China's major cities began in 1905, when the Beijing–Wuhan (Hankou) railway reached the area, stimulating much new trade and encouraging local farmers to grow cash crops. Two years later the town became the junction for the new Shitai line, running from Shijiazhuang to Taiyuan in central Shanxi province. This connection immediately transformed the town from a local collecting center and market into a communications center of national importance on the main route from Beijing and Tianjin to Shanxi and — later, when the railway from Taiyuan was extended to the southwest — to Shaanxi province as well. The city also became the center of an extensive road network.
During the pre-World War II period, Shijiazhuang was a large railway town as well as a commercial and collecting center for Shanxi and the regions farther west and for the agricultural produce of the North China Plain, particularly for grain, tobacco, and cotton. By 1935 it had far outstripped Zhengding as an economic center. At the end of World War II the character of the city changed once again. Not only did it assume an administrative role as the preeminent city in western Hebei but it also developed into an industrial city. Some industry, such as match manufacturing, tobacco processing, and glassmaking, had already been established before the war.
Only after 1949, however, did the planned industrialization of the city gather momentum. Its population more than trebled in the decade 1948–58. In the 1950s the city experienced a major expansion in the textile industry, with large-scale cotton spinning, weaving, printing, and dyeing works. In addition, there are various plants processing local farm produce. In the 1960s it was also the site of a new chemical industry, with plants producing fertilizer and caustic soda. Shijiazhuang also became an engineering base, with a tractor-accessory plant. There are important coal deposits at Jingxing and Huailu, now named Luquan, a few miles to the west in the foothills of the Taihang Mountains, which provide fuel for a thermal-generating plant supplying power to local industries. The city's role as a transport center has been supplemented by the construction of an airport handling regular domestic flights.
Administration
Shijiazhuang has direct jurisdiction over:
- Chang'an District (长安区, pinyin: Cháng'ān Qū)
- Qiaodong District (桥东区, pinyin: Qiáodōng Qū)
- Qiaoxi District (桥西区, pinyin: Qiáoxī Qū)
- Xinhua District (新华区, pinyin: Xīnhuá Qū)
- Yuhua District (裕华区, pinyin: Yùhuá Qū)
- Jingjingkuang District (井陉矿区, pinyin: Jǐngjìngkuàng Qū)
- Xinji City (辛集市, pinyin: Xīnjí Shì)
- Gaocheng City (藳城市, pinyin: Gàochéng Shì)
- Jinzhou City (Chinese: 晋州; pinyin: Jìnzhōu)
- Xinle City (新乐市, pinyin: Xīnlè Shì)
- Luquan City (鹿泉市, pinyin: Lùquán Shì)
- Jingjing County (井陉县, pinyin: Jǐngjìng Xiàn)
- Zhengding County (正定，pinyin: Zhèngdìng)
- Luancheng County (栾城县, pinyin: Luánchéng Xiàn)
- Xingtang County (行唐县, pinyin: Xíngtáng Xiàn)
- Lingshou County (灵寿县, pinyin: Língshòu Xiàn)
- Gaoyi County (高邑县, pinyin: Gāoyì Xiàn)
- Shenze County (深泽县, pinyin: Shēnzé Xiàn)
- Zanhuang County (赞皇县, pinyin: Zànhuáng Xiàn)
- Wuji County (无极县, pinyin: Wújí Xiàn)
- Pingshan County (平山县, pinyin: Píngshān Xiàn)
- Yuanshi County (元氏县, pinyin: Yuánshì Xiàn)
- Zhao County (赵县, pinyin: Zhào Xiàn)
Economy
Shijiazhuang is an important industrial city and is considered the economic center of Hebei. Main industries include textile-, pharmaceutical- and chemical-related industries. North China Pharmaceutical Group Corp (NCPC) located in Shijiazhuang is a leading pharmaceutical manufacturer in China. In 2002, NCPC achieved domestic sales revenue USD 700 million and export sales USD 100 million.
Transportation
Shijiazhuang is a transportation hub: it is at the intersection point of the Beijing-Guangzhou, Taiyuan-Dezhou, and Shuozhou-Huanghua railroads and many expressways, including the Beijing-Shenzhen and Taiyuan-Cangzhou Expressways. The Shijiazhuang Daguocun International Airport has flight connections to major cities in China.
Culture
As a young industrial city, Shijiazhuang city proper is generally considered to have relatively few sights of historical or cultural interest. Exceptions are:
- Martyrs' Memorial (Lieshi Lingyuan) dedicated to Norman Bethune, Eric Liddell, and Dwarkanath Kotnis
- Hebei Museum (Hebei Sheng Bowuguan)
However, several sites of historical and cultural significance are located in the surrounding area, including:
- Longxing Monastery in Zhengding, 15 kilometers to the north
- Mount Cangyan, 50 km to the southwest
- Zhaozhou Bridge, 40 km to the southeast
- Bailin (Cypress Grove) Temple, 40 km to the southeast
Sister cities
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Bielsko-Biala, Poland
Cheonan, South Korea
Soria, Castilla y León, Spain
Falkenberg, Sweden
Des Moines, Iowa, United States-
Edison, New Jersey, United States -
Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States 
Nagykanizsa, Hungary
External links
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