Location: situated in the middle south of Hebei province; on the Huabei Plain; between 38′04″orth latitude and 114′29″east longitude; with Beijing and Tianjin in the north and the Bohai Sea and Huabei oil field east; leaning against the Taihang Range and bordering on the Shanxi province in the west.

Neighboring Areas: Beijing and Tianjin Municipalities; Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, and Liaoning provinces; Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

Physical Features: the urban district with smooth terrain; higher in the west and lower east; dotted with lakes

Population: 8.60 million
Urban Population: 1.50 million
Area: 15,848 sq km

Nationalities: Han, Hui, Manchu, Korean and Mongolian

History: originally set up in earlier Ming dynasty; used to be the collecting and distributing center for goods to Yan, Zhao and San Jin; having the fame of the thoroughfare between north and south, the throat of Yan (Shandong province) and Jin (Shanxi province) used to be called “Shijia city “,”Shimen city” etc.

Climatic Features: located in the temperate zone, enjoying the continental climate; four seasons clearly demarcated with cold winter and hot summer; with frost-free period of 200 days.

Average Temperature: 13C annually; annual average sunshine more than 2400 hours. Rainfall: annual even precipitation 570 mm; maximum average humidity 62 percent.

Mountains: Mt. Taihang and Mt. Cangyanshan.

Rivers: Hutuohe River, Cihe River, Dashahe River, Jiaohe River, Huaishahe River, Yehe River and Gantaohe River

Local Highlights: Xuanhua pear, honey peach, date, walnut, apple, Jingjing Lahua - the northern Yangge