Hebei Province: A Tourist Destination Not to Be Missed

By HUA ZI

HEBEI Province may be less well known as a Chinese travel destination due to its proximity to Beijing, the international metropolis and capital of several ancient regimes. Hebei, however, boasts rich tourist attractions: it has 278 historic sites under national protection, ranking foremost in the country.

Over 5,000 years ago the Yellow Emperor defeated rival tribe leaders the Yan Emperor and Chiyou, in what is today’s Hebei, uniting the region and establishing Chinese civilization. During the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods (770-221 BC) Hebei seated the Yan and Zhao states, bequeathing a large trove of precious cultural relics still evident to this day. By the Yuan (1271-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, Beijing was established as the capital, and neighboring Hebei played an important role in protecting it.

Besides historic sites, Hebei also boasts attractive natural scenery. It is the only province with all the geographic features of Chinese topography – beaches, plains, lakes, hilly land, mountains and plateaus. The various landforms endow Hebei with distinctive and changing natural scenery through different seasons. The most popular tourist attractions for both domestic and international travelers are the Great Wall, the Chengde Mountain Resort and its surrounding temple complex, Shanhaiguan Pass, and Zhangjiakou’s Ski Resort.

The Best of the Great Wall

A wood carving of Guanyin at the Longxing Temple of Zhengding County, which was first built in AD 586.

The Great Wall is the pride and symbol of the Chinese nation, as well as one of the world’s miracles of ancient architecture. It has been 2,000 years since the construction of the Great Wall began. Today it extends for over 5,000 kilometers through central and northern China.

For Great Wall enthusiasts, the best choice is to go to Hebei because about 2,000 kilometers of the ancient fortification wind through this province. The Great Wall starts from Shanhaiguan in Hebei in the east, and ends in the west at Jiayuguan in Gansu Province. Many of its most renowned sections are in Hebei, including the Jinshanling and Panjiakou Great Wall in Chengde City, Luowenyu Great Wall in Tangshan City, Jiaoshan, Jiumenkou and Shanhaiguan Great Wall in Qinhuangdao City. These are the best preserved and most representative sections of the colossal construction. Hebei also has several Great Wall museums and the Temple of Lady Mengjiang (a legendary figure whose husband, soon after their marriage, was taken away to build the defense works there, and died of overwork), where visitors acquire a deeper understanding of the culture of the Great Wall.

The 10.5-kilometer Jinshanling Great Wall on the border of Luanping County in Hebei Province and Miyun County in Beijing is considered the quintessence of the formation. It is the best-preserved section, built during the Ming Dynasty, and features the most complex structure.

The Jinshanling Great Wall has a distinctive defense system because its builders drew on the experience of previous wars and battles to modify the old design. The section was equipped with a beacon-fire alarm system, lookout towers and passes. Some of the military features here are of the sort rarely seen in other sections of the Great Wall. The lookout towers, for instance, are of various shapes – square, circular, L-shaped or long and narrow. The arrow towers have three, four or five arrow slits. Standing at the top of an arrow tower and gazing afar, you can see how the Great Wall connects the mountains and towers, offering grand and imposing vistas.

Another section of the Great Wall that thrills visitors is the Panjiakou Underwater Great Wall, 60 kilometers northwest of the county seat of Qianxi in Hebei. In the Ming Dynasty it was part of the defense against Mongolians, at the Jizhen garrison. As time passed with changing water levels, a part of the Great Wall became submerged in the Panjiakou Reservoir, while the rest still remains above the surface, scaling up the mountain westward. The submerged walls and towers, visible from above the water, resemble a swimming dragon. The two parts form a rare and wonderful panorama that blends ancient military architecture and lake and mountain views.

The Shanhaiguan Pass

Shanhaiguan is the first pass at the eastern end of the Great Wall. As its name (Shanhai meaning mountain and sea) suggests, it stands against Yanshan Mountain and overlooks the Bohai Sea. The pass was easy to defend but hard to attack; it therefore served as an important defense line for the Ming capital. In the early Ming Dynasty, Shanhaiguan town was an important route for travelers and merchants. During wars, the gate of the town would be firmly closed, while in more peaceful times the gate was opened wide, with people and carriages thronging in and out.

Over 600 years ago when the Ming overthrew the Yuan Dynasty, the remaining Yuan forces retreated north, continuing its clashes with the Ming army. Zhu Yuanzhang, the first Ming emperor, therefore sent his general Xu Da to reinforce the Great Wall. Xu built Shanhaiguan in 1381, due to its strategic location between Beijing and Shenyang being of tremendous military import.

Shanhaiguan town is a square, with gates on each side. The eastern one is the best preserved, and a board with the inscription “First Pass under Heaven,” which dates back to the Ming Dynasty, hangs over it. The eastern and western walls of the town are themselves part of the Great Wall.

Shanhaiguan is an elaborately designed and heavily fortified pass. Barbicans were built outside the town encircling the four gates, offering it extra protection. When encountering invasion, defenders could launch converging attacks from three sides outside the city gate. Outside the barbicans there are other constructions, forming a multilayered defense system.

As the Great Wall is often compared to a huge dragon, the towering construction at its eastern end that juts into the sea is aptly nicknamed the “Old Dragon’s Head.” In the area are Ming barracks, drill grounds and a temple for the God of Sea, among other sites of historical interest.

About four kilometers east of Shanhaiguan, the Temple of Lady Mengjiang rises with its red walls and gray tiles on Phoenix Mountain. The temple was built to commemorate the heroine for her loyalty to her husband, who died building the Great Wall, and her courage in rebelling against injustice. It was first built before the Song Dynasty (960-1279), and renovated during the Ming Dynasty.

About three kilometers north of Shanhaiguan is Jiaoshan (Horn) Mountain, its highest peak standing at 519 meters. It is the first mountain that the Great Wall passes through, and is also referred to as the horns of this stone dragon. On the mountain stands the centuries-old temple of Qixian (shelter for the virtuous and erudite) – a summer resort for literati during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is believed to be a cradle of Shanhaiguan culture, which features a syncretism of Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and chivalry.

Chengde Mountain Resort and Temples

Chengde Mountain Resort sits in northern Chengde City. As the imperial summer resort where Qing emperors handled state affairs on vacation, it stood witness to many major events of the monarchy, hence serving as a valuable resource for research into this period of history. This regal complex, 230 kilometers from Beijing, was built over 90 years, starting in 1703, during the reigns of three emperors. It stands out among China’s royal palaces for its unadorned natural mountain and river surroundings and unrivaled size. It is twice the size of the Summer Palace in Beijing. Over 120 architectural complexes with distinctive Eastern charm loom amid lush woods on rolling mountains and by meandering rivers, constituting a traditional landscape painting.

The whole resort involves two parts: the palace zone; and the natural environment zone, with lakes, plains and mountains. The water body is divided by dams and islets into five parts connected by bridges. Buildings on the shore are artistically aligned with unmistakable loan elements from classical designs of southern provinces.

Meadows and shrubs make up the plain area. It was once the site of Wanshu or “10,000 Trees” Garden and 28 Mongolian yurts of different sizes, of which the biggest was 24 meters in diameter, being the emperor’s temporary palace to welcome nobles, high officials of different nationalities, religious leaders, and foreign envoys.

West and north of this resort are mountain areas with extensive tree cover, where the temperature is four to five degrees lower than in downtown Chengde. It offers a chance to escape the heat and bustle of modern life.

The Eight Outer Temples near the Chengde Mountain Resort is the largest royal temple complex in the world. Qing emperors spent great amounts on building it as a blessing for national security and stability. There are actually 12 temples. As eight were directly administered by the Qing Court of Colonial Affairs in Beijing, they were collectively referred to as the Eight Outer Temples. The 10,000 Buddhist statues and ritual artifacts have been well preserved and worshiped. The temples adopted architectural features from different ethnic cultures in China, such as Manchu, Han, Tibetan and Uygur, embodying national integration and solidarity and displaying the openness and creativity of 18th century Chinese architects.

These temples and the Mountain Resort were added to UNESCO’s list of World Cultural Heritage sites in 1994.

Puning (Universal Peace) Temple is the most typical of this cluster – the first built in Chengde by Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) in reverence of Tibetan Buddhism. It served as a link between the central government and Tibetans, Mongolians and other ethnic groups in the border areas. It was also the headquarters of the chief abbot who supervises all the lamaseries in Chengde, as designated by the emperor. Puning Temple hence holds value as being more than a religious shrine, featuring political, architectural and artistic endowments.

Putuo Zongsheng Temple was modeled on the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. Putuo Zongsheng is a Chinese transliteration of Tibetan “Potala,” and is therefore nicknamed the Minor Potala Palace. It was built by the mountains and followed Tibetan architectural styles, evident in the false decorative windows, the white buildings of flat tops and arched gates, and the bell-shaped Lama pagodas. While constructed along an axis, the symmetrical design and the rings of courtyards connect closely to represent Han architectural features.

Chongli, Paradise for Skiing in Winter

Over 1,000 years ago, the Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai wrote: “Snowflakes on Yanshan (a mountain ridge in Hebei) are as big as mats.” This would not be hard to imagine if you have ever seen the meter-deep snow on the mountains throughout the winter in Chongli County, Zhangjiakou City in northwestern Hebei.

The region is the natural ski resort closest to Beijing, a three-hour drive of 249 kilometers. It sits in the transition zone between the Inner Mongolian Plateau and North China Plain and is checkered with mountains, meadows and woods, with 30 percent forest cover. These factors contribute to the long 150-day period of annual snowfall and superior quality of snow, with granule hardness, viscosity of flakes and other parameters, making Chongli a paradise for skiing.

The several ski resorts in the region promise fun and excitement for skiers. Charging down high slopes on sleds or snowfield motorcycles, a sense of flight fires everyone’s hidden yearnings.

For history devotees, Changchengling (Great Wall Range) is a good choice. This newly established ski resort, 18 km away from the county seat of Chongli and covering more than 1,530 hectares, has been honored by China’s General Administration of Sports and the China Ski Association as the ideal natural ski resort in northern China. It takes its name from its proximity to a section of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall. Remnants of the wall and the beacon towers along it can be spotted across boundless whiteness at the end of the horizon to the southwest. Skiing here uniquely meshes history and modernity.

Chongli has now set its sights on hosting the National Winter Games, the Asian Winter Games and even the Winter Olympics, building up skiing and resort facilities to international standards and growing into a national hub for snow sports and tourism.

For skiing enthusiasts, this place is truly a gift from heaven.