HEBEI·CHINA
　EncompassingCapital Beijing and Tianjin Municipality,and embracing Bohai Sea,Hebei Province is an important coastal province in North China with a total area of 187.7thousand square kilometers,a coastline of 487kilometers and a population of 67.69million.There are 11municipalities directly under the jurisdiction of the provincial government including136 counties or county-level cities with Shijiazhuang City as its provincial capital.
　Hebei Province takes its name from its location to the north of the Yellow River.In2000 B.C.,Dayu set up the first dynasty in Chinese history---Xia Dy-nasty dividing the country into 9 states.Among them the State of Ji now refers to Hebei.During the Spring & Autumn Period and the Warring States Period,the northern part of Hebei belonged to Yan Kingdom,and its southern part to Zhao in Beijing in Yuan Dynasty,Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty,Hebei became the environs to surround and protect the capital.

Economic Construction
· With its comprehensive category of industries,Hebei Province has formed the pillar industries such as metallurgy,chemical industry,pharmacy,building materials,machinery and food ,as well as superior industries such as light industry,textile and garments,and also fostered a group of famous enterprises and name brand products among which the output of iron and steel,chemical raw material medicine,sensitive material,caustic soda,glass,sanitary ceramics and super-high voltage transformer rank the 1st in China.The output of its agro-products holds an important position in China and it's abundant in wheat,corn,cotton,grains,potatoes and soybeans.Hebei also has rapidly developed modern service industries such as commerce and trade,information and consulting,etc..
· Hebei has unique geographical location and developed transportation.There are 15main railways and 17trunk highways running through Hebei Province,its rail freight and highway freight both rank the 1st among the mainland provinces,its total expressway open to traffic reaches 1681km,ranking the 4th in China.From north to south,there are larger seaports such as Qinhuangdao Seaport,Jingtang Seaport and Huanghua Seaport whose annual handling capacity adds up to 170million tons.Shijiazhuang Airport is an international airport approved by the state.Besides,it has convenient and high effective telecommunication linking itself to the whole country and the world.
·Since1990s,its economic growth rate has exceeded the national average growth rate for 14 consecutive years.In2003,the GDP of Hebei reached 709.5billion yuan,an increase of 11.6%over the previous year,2.5percentage higher than the national average level.

Social Cause
· Hebei has actively been carrying out the strategy of "Rejuvenating Ji with Science and Technology",constantly improved the status of science and technology education in its economy and social development.More complete education system has come into being,characterized by the diploma education for basic education,ordinary higher education,vocational & technological education,higher education for adults and medium education and consisting of various kinds of training as well.A number of science and research results have been up to the advanced level in China and in the world,whose contribution ratio to economy has been improved continuously.
· Medical and health causes have developed further,different levels of hospitals and medical institutions have covered the whole province,and more perfct urban and ruralhealth service system has initially come into being.
·Profound culture of Hebei has formed its strong local characteristics,Hebei Opera,Cangzhou Wushu,Tangshan Shadow Puppet and Yuxian Paper Cut are well-known all over the world.The China Wuqiao International Circus Fes-tival held in Shijiazhuang City is one 3 venues for the world acrobatic art and has attracted the acrobatic groups from different countries to present their performances here.