Hebei Information Overview Hebei is located in northeastern China, and the name means “north of the river.” The capital, Shijiazhuang, is in the west of the province roughly 175 mi (109 km) from the Bohai Sea, an arm of the Yellow Sea, and roughly 150 mi (93 km) southwest of Beijing. It is China’s 6th most populous province with 68,090,000 people. The population density falls 11th in the nation with 363 p/sq km. Located in northeastern China, Hebei surrounds two autonomous municipalities, namely Beijing and Tianjin. Hebei Geography Hebei province covers much of the historic North China Plane in the central and southern parts of the province. In the west and northwest it slopes upward into the Taihang Shan Mountains where it borders Shanxi province. Hebei sits atop the Yellow River (Huang He), the river that the name Hebei refers comes from. It borders Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Henan, and Shandong provinces. Hebei Demographics Hebei Province is comprised mostly of Han who make up 96% of the province’s population. The historic Manchu ethnic group composes 3% with Hui and Mongol constituting 0.8% and 0.3% respectively. Hebei History Hebei province has a continuous and important presence in Chinese history. The North China Plane, of which Hebei encompasses a large portion, is known as the center of modern Chinese history. There were many changes to its political boundaries throughout the millenniums of Chinese dynastic rule and barbarian invasions from the north. Upon the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Zhangjiakou and part of Chengde were given to Hebei, which stretched its border north of the traditional North China Plane all the way to the Great Wall. Because Hebei is culturally and linguistically part of the Northern Mandarin dialect areas, the people are traditionally characterized as humble, submissive, and orderly. Hebei Industry Hebei province is well situated for agricultural industry with the watershed of the Yellow River and the North China Planes. One of China’s main coal mines, Kailuan, is found here and much of the North China Oilfield is also within the province. The province is also a large industrial center for steel and textiles. The province’s proximity to Beijing and Tianjin provide it with a relatively high and stable GDP, usually ranking around 6th in the country. The province also brings in tourists due to the Great Wall that spreads across the northern region of the province. .