Shijiazhuang

Capital of Hebei, an hour from Beijing on the HSR. Modern industrial city with limited tourism but as a launchpad for Mt Cangyan and Zhengding Old Town.

Shijiazhuang is a working modern provincial capital that grew, improbably, from a small railway-junction village at the turn of the twentieth century. Before the railways arrived, the settlement barely registered on maps; after them, it became one of China's larger industrial centres. The historic core visible in many comparable Chinese cities was never here to begin with, which makes Shijiazhuang unusual — it is not a city that has lost its old quarter to development, but one that never had one in the conventional sense.

Tourist interest concentrates on the surroundings rather than the city itself. Zhengding Old Town, 15 kilometres north, contains four significant Tang and Song dynasty pagodas within easy walking distance of each other — the Linji Temple's pagoda, the Kaiyuan Temple tower, and the pagodas of Tianning and Guang'en temples. The density of ancient structures in a compact area makes Zhengding a rewarding half-day and a sharper reminder of imperial-era Hebei architecture than most of the provincial capital. Zhengding is accessible by city bus from Shijiazhuang.

Mt Cangyan, 50 kilometres south-west, is the other major draw. The Hanging Palace — a Tang-dynasty temple complex cantilevered into a cliff face — became internationally recognisable when it appeared as a setting in Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The site requires a half-day excursion; most visitors take a taxi or tour bus. The mountain itself has additional temples and good ridge-walking for those with more time.

In the city, the Hebei Museum holds a substantial collection of bronzes, Han dynasty burial goods, and historical artefacts from a province that sat at the centre of several dynasties. The exhibits are well-presented by regional museum standards. The city's main commercial areas around Zhongshan Road and the high-speed rail station are functional; dining options in Hebei cuisine are plentiful, with the local speciality lurou huoshao (slow-cooked donkey meat in a sesame flatbread) available across the city.

Shijiazhuang is on the Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed rail corridor, with Beijing South reached in around 75 minutes. The airport handles domestic routes. For most visitors, the city functions as a base for its surroundings rather than as a destination in itself.