Hebei Province is abbreviated to “Ji”, surrounding Beijing and Tianjin, covering an area of 190,000-square-kilometer, situated in North China. Its name originates in its location, which is to the north of the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It was called Hebei Province for the first time in 1928.
    About 5,000 years ago, its here that the three Chinese ealist ancestors-Emperor Huang, Yan and Chiyou were united, then starting the Chinese ancient civilization. During the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Heibei become more important since Beijing was chosen for the capital. There are 670 historic places in the province. Among them, 88 are directly under the state protection. Now Hebei has 3 World Cultural Heritages, 5 National Historic Cities. The most attractive spots are the Imperial Mountain Resort and its surrounding temples in Chengde, the mausoleum groups of Qing Dynasty and the highlights of the Greatwall. In addition, Lotus Pond and Zhili Governor's Office Building in Baoding, Longxing Temple and Zhaozhou Stone Bridge in Shijiazhuang, Fairy Hall of Golden Millet Dream, Mountain Xiangtang Grottoes in Handan are all well-known both at home and abroad.
    Hebei is the only province that possesses all kinds of landscapes such as seashores, plains, lakes, hills and plateaus in China. There are 2 National Ten Scenic Spots, 3 National Topping Forty Views, 5 National Scenic Areas, 9 National Forest Parks and 3 National Natural Reserves. it has some major sights such as “summer resort city” Beidaihe and Nandaihe known for their natural beach scenery, Bashang Grassland famous for its width and magnificence, Shanhai Pass regarded as “First Pass on Earth”, Lotus Pond in Baoding, Baiyangdian Lake famed for its water view and Laishui Yesanpo reputed for its natural scenery. And the others,such as Qinhuangdao Seashore, Baiyangdian Lake, Mountain Taihang, Mountain Yanshan, Forest and Grassland are all tourists' favorites.
    There are a few types of local operas popular in Hebei Province such as Hebei Bangzi opera, Peiking opera, Sixian opera, and Zhuizi opera, of which Hebei Bangzi is the main local opera.