If you never heard of Shijiazhuang don't worry, there are many great cities in China and the land is so big that some good places are almost hidden from strangers.
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Shijiazhuang is the capital of Hebei Province on the North China Plain. On the north there is Beijing, the Bohai Sea on the east, and the Taihang Mountain on the west. This is a city that was a small village some one hundred years ago and with the advent of the railway it became a big, modern city. Today, it is a place where big railway routes meet and it has a big role in China and foreign exchanges and it's the place through which China's coal flows. And where there's traffic there are people and development.
Shijiazhuang is the center of Hebei Province and the largest pharmaceutical base in China. This charming and big city has a picturesque moat surrounding the city, 20 parks, and its name means "Village of Shi Family" which connects it with its past. The green zones are divided into fabulous nature parks that will take a few days to explore. The city was developed in a way that almost all the major attractions are located on the outskirts of the city. But thanks to its good connections, it's easy to get to all attractions it has to offer. Local buses will take you anywhere you want.
In the city, there are numerous shopping streets to walk around and stores in every shopping plaza with all kinds of products. Beiguo Shopping Mall is one of the landmarks in Shijiazhuang and there you can find the upper scale products. If you want something more affordable Xinbai Shopping Plaza is the place for you. Xinji International Leather City, 40 minutes train ride from Shijiazhuang, is the best place to purchase leather products in China. Before this crazy covid-time, the number of daily visitors in Leather City sometimes reached 10,000 in the busy season.
The new glass sky-bridge at Hongyagu Scenic Area is the world’s longest glass-floor bridge at 488 meters. City parks is another feature that the city is proud of. Among them some stand out the Chang'an Park, actually four parks and an underground mall in one, where you can see a bunch of kids playing around. You will recognize it easily: it has a huge Mao Zedong statue. Locals are very friendly and you may find nice people dancing, playing games, practicing Kungfu and Taijichuan or just relaxing together in Chang'an, Century and Zhongshan, the biggest parks in the city.
Everybody learn Chinese these days. Shijiazhuang is a perfect place to study it due to the clear Mandarin accent of the local population and the city has many coffee shops where you can practice writing characters while sipping your coffee. When your stomach signals lunch time, Gaocheng Noodles is something you must taste because that's what has been made a tribute to the royal family. Each noodle has a hollow heart and has a smooth taste. Soft inside with a strong fragrance of wheat and sesame, clay oven roll, is made from wheat flour, oil and sesame seeds. Delicious.
You should know that many food places in Shijiazhuang have a "food card" system". It's a simple prepaid system: you buy a food card and when you are in the restaurant they deduct points from your card. Those restaurants don't take cash so take that into account. While there, you must try baijiu, or white spirit as some call it, alcohol made from rice. If you think whisky is strong, think again before you taste this Chinese drink with a distinctive taste. If you want to mingle with foreigners go to Seven Club or Chocolate Bar to get a taste of home while you are in China.
The Hebei Provincial Museum is in fact two museums: The old North Museum from 1968 and the new South Museum from 2001. The North Museum has 16 exhibition halls, the South Museum has 11 exhibition halls, everything is big in China. You'll be good here: there are 150,000 pieces of artifacts. And you must see the Zhaozhou Bridge from the 7th century. It has the 37.37 meters stone arch over the Xiaohe River, the world’s largest arch in its time. There you can relax in the shade of the nearby trees and pavilions, admire the sculptures on the bridge and the scenery.
Some 18km north of Shijiazhuang there is Longxing Temple, one of the oldest and largest Buddhist monasteries. That Relics Protection Unit from the year of 586, are a fine example of the Song architecture but the most impressive thing, along its great spacious halls, is a 21 meter high bronze statue of Guanyin, Goddess of Mercy. Guanyin has a thousand hands and a thousand eyes. Some 70km to the west of Shijiazhuang there is the most beautiful peak of all the peaks in Taihang Mountains, Canyanshan Mountain, with a Sui dynasty palace above a gorge. ■
