Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei

The railway station at Shijiazhuang

Shijiazhuang (石家庄), a prefecture-level-city, is the capital of Hebei district. The name Shijiazhuang literally means “The Shi Family Village”, or “Stone Family Village”.

The city is located about 320 kilometers south of Beijing. It is a relatively new city, whose main growth began in the 1950’s.

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, the Zhaozhou Bridge, 40 km to the southeast and the Bailin(Cypress Grove) Temple, 40 km to the southeast.

Shijiazhuang has had a history of competition with Baoding, a smaler but a much older city, as the most important city in Hebei.