125 kilometers away from Shijiazhuang City
in the south, 141 kilometers away from Beijing in the north and 155 kilometers
from Tianjin in the east, Baoding City lies in the central part of Hebei
Province. It has under its jurisdiction 3 districts, 4 county-level cities, and
18 counties.
Baoding has a convenient transportation with
both Beijing-Guangzhou railway and road running through it and a network of
regional roads. It only takes 2 hours from Beijing to Baoding by the newly built
Beijing-Shijiazhuang Expressway.
Baoding is a cultural city with more than
2,000 years of history. Two relics of the Yangshao Culture have been found here.
In the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, Baoding City was called Baoding Lu; in the
period of the Republic of China and the early stage of the PRC, Baoding was the
capital city of Hebei Province. The Lianchi Academy set up in the Yongzheng
reign of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) was well known all over the country. The
Old Lotus Pond was one of the Top Ten Ponds at that time.
Baoding is a national historical and
cultural city with unique scenery and plenty of places of interest. Places for
tourists are the Old Lotus Pond, the provincial government office of Zhili
Province in ancient times, the Baiyang Shallow Lake reputed as the Bright Pearl
in North China, the West Tomb of the Qing Dynasty in Yixian County, the Tomb of
the Han Dynasty with Jade Clothes Sewn with Gold Threads and the Changxin Palace
Lantern, the north Yuefei Temple in Quyang City, the Kaiyua Pagoda in Dingzhou.
It also has more than 300 scenic spots such as the Yesanpo in Laishui at the
state level, the Zhuozhou Movie City for CCTV.