Shijiazhuang

Shijiazhuang (石家庄; Shíjiāzhuāng) is the capital of Hebei Province. It is also the main economic centre of Hebei and a relatively important city in China. It can be a useful base for visiting nearby places of interest including two monasteries and a stone bridge built around 600 CE.

Understand

Shijiazhuang is a comparatively young city. It was an unimportant town until the Zhengding-Taiyuan and Beijing-Hankou railways were built, whereupon it become a regional transport hub. Captured by the People's Liberation Army under the leadership of the Communist Party in 1947, it was the cradle of the new China, and for three years housed the party headquarters.

Geography

As of 2022, Shijiazhuang's prefecture boasted a population exceeding 11 million, with over 4 million residing in the central metropolitan area. The city is surrounded by notable regions such as Zhengding County, located 15 km to the north, known for its historic walled city and towering pagodas, and Pingshan County to the northwest, home to a resort area with the world's longest glass bridge and the Xibaipo Memorial, a key site in China's revolutionary history.

Shijiazhuang is a major pharmaceutical hub in China and also hosts significant industries in textiles, information technology, manufacturing, and chemicals.

Get in

By plane

• 1 Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport (石家庄正定国际机场). Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport is the main hub of Hebei Airlines. Daily flights on Hebei Airlines have covered most major cities in China. All international flights are operated in Terminal 1, while all domestic flights are in Terminal 2. There are free shuttles running between these two terminals. 

Airport buses to Shijiazhuang downtown can be found in Terminal 2. Every bus will depart according to the arrival time of each flight, so you will not miss the last bus even if your flight is delayed and your plane lands at midnight. Fares are ¥20 per person.

Passengers can also connect from the Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport to the nearly HSR station, with scheduled shuttles to the train station. The HSR station has a "rail and air terminal" where passengers complete all formalities without exiting the train station, then connect onto a shuttle bus for accelerated boarding.

By train

Shijiazhuang has one of the largest railway hubs in China, with numerous trains arriving throughout the day. The express train from Beijing takes just over an hour.

• 2 Shijiazhuang Railway Station (石家庄站). CRH D and G trains leave regularly. If you use one of the many train ticket offices, expect to pay a ¥5 surcharge per ticket, but it is faster and the prices for all cities are posted on the walls (including all types of seats). Since there are special counters for foreign travellers in the ticketing area of the train station, it is more convenient to purchase at the station if you are concerned about avoiding language problems. 
• 3 Shijiazhuang North Railway Station (石家庄北). CRH D and G trains leave regularly. 
• Shijiazhuang East Railway Station (石家庄东).

By bus

Buses to neighboring cities and towns depart from different bus stations, but each of these stations (and many close destinations) can be conveniently reached by buses (all stations), subways (only Baifo Station) and taxis from Shijiazhuang Railway Station. Long-distance buses (e.g. from Beijing) arrive and depart at the main bus station, with a direct bus line to the railway station.

By car

The road network is quite good, and Shijiazhuang can be reached from Beijing by car in about 3 hours. Expressways also link the provincial capital to Taiyuan, Zhengzhou and other destinations.

Get around

Most tourist attractions are outside the city.

Traffic is marginal, except at high peak hours (American rush hour), at which point it could take as much as 20 minutes to get through certain lights on many of the major roads (especially Ping'An Da Jie, Zhongshan Lu, Yuhua Lu, Jianshe Da Jie and Zhonghua Lu).

By bus

Buses in Shijiazhuang, as in any large city in China, are frequent and cheap: just ¥1 for a journey, whatever the distance. but during the hot season and cold season some buses with air conditioning charge ¥2.

By taxi

Taxis are plentiful, with the flag-drop ¥8.5 for gasoline taxis and ¥8 for EV taxis, and a delay rate of ¥1.60 per five minutes. It's particularly difficult to hail a taxi during the period around 18:00.

For ridesharing, Didi (滴滴出行) app is available.

By subway

Shijiazhuang Metro Map

Subway Line 1, 2 and 3 are in service. Subway Line 4 and 5 are under construction.

By bike-sharing

Bike-sharing can be found everywhere in this city. As of 2019, the most popular bike-sharing businesses in Shijiazhuang are Hello Bike, Qingju, and Mobike. Just use the app to scan the code printed on bikes, and you can ride the bike to every corner of Shijiazhuang.

See

There are a number of sightseeing places in the area, both natural and historic. Most are not in the city.

Historical sites

• 1 Bailin Monastery (柏林禅寺; Bǎilín Chán Sì), Zhao County (赵县; Zhàoxiàn) (in Zhao County, 3 km from Zhaozhou Bridge, and can be reached by the same buses). Large monastery, dating back to the Tang dynasty. 
• 2 North China Military Martyrs Cemetery (石家庄烈士陵园), Zhongshan W Rd, Qiaoxi. A large park with multiple memorials to those who fought and died in the anti-Japanese war. Notable for foreigners are the Canadian-themed memorial dedicated to Norman Bethune, and Indian-themed memorial to Dwarkanath Kotnis and other Indian doctors who assisted the Chinese. 
• 3 Pilu Monastery (毗庐寺, Vairocana Monastery) (Shanjing Village in the northwestern suburbs of Shijiazhuang, bus 115 or 204 from the Railway Station will take you there). Built in the Tang dynasty and underwent major restorations under the Yuan and Ming dynasties. The main hall (Vairocana Hall; 毗庐殿; Pílúdiàn) contains a stone pedestal with excellent Tang carvings, as well as murals from the Yuan-Ming period, some of which are truly magnificent (if you have the luck to visit when the sunlight is good enough to observe the details). ¥20. 
• 4 Zhaozhou Bridge, Zhao County (赵县; Zhàoxiàn) (bus from the southern Nanjiao Station (南焦客运站; Nánjiāo Kèyùnzhàn; which can be riched by bus 35 from the Central Railway Station) to Zhao County or, better, to Ningjin County (宁晋县; Níngjìnxiàn), get off the bus at the junction from which it is 1 km walk). A great masterpiece of Chinese civil engineering. Created around 600 CE under the Sui dynasty, it survived numerous floods and earthquakes, and is considered nowadays as the oldest stone single arch bridge in the world. Adjacent small museum with a collection of stone carvings, steles and statues from the vicinity of Zhou County. ¥30 including the museum. 

Museums

• 5 Hebei Art Museum (河北美术馆), 113 Huai'an E Rd, Yuhua Qu. 
• 6 Hebei Provincial Museum. This is a must-see and contains expositions from two major discoveries: the tomb of King of Zhongshan (中山王) from the late 4th century BCE, and the royal tombs of prince and princess of the Han principality of Zhongshan (Mancheng 满城 Han tombs) from the late 2nd century BCE. 
• 7 Shijiazhuang Museum. (updated Mar 2018)

Parks and nature

• 8 Century Park (世纪公园). Contains the Shijiazhuang TV tower. 
• 9 People's Square and Chang'an Park (人民广场、长安公园). A park (northern portion) and a square (southern portion) connected. An underground mall is near the southern entrance (with a giant white statue of Mao Zedong). Shijiazhuang Museum is at the western side. 
• 10 Cangyan Mountain (苍岩山; Cāngyánshān) (90 minutes drive from Shijiazhuang, bus from the western Xiwang Station (西王客运站; Xīwáng Kèyùnzhàn; reached by bus 9 from the Central Bus Station)). Really beautiful, picture postcard temples built on the steep hillsides. There is a pavilion built on a bridge over a gorge that was filed in the final scenes of the Oscar-winning film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Looking down at the Cangyan Mountains, two mountains stand facing each other from east to west, and one chain of mountains lie across their back from north to south, with the Fuqing temple built in the valley formed by the precipices and cliffs. 

Towns and villages

• Shitou Village (石头村; Shítoucūn; lit. Stone Village; also known as Yujia Village (于家村; Yújiācūn)) (20 km from Jingxing County and can be visited en route to the Cangyan Mountain). A perfect example of Chinese stone architecture, with an excellent local temple (Qingliang pavilion; 清凉阁; Qīngliánggé) built in the late Ming-Early Qing period (16th-18th centuries). It may serve as an introduction to popular beliefs of the Chinese peasants. 
• Niangzi Guan (娘子关; Niángzǐguān) (20 km east of Shitou Village, a taxi will cost ¥80-100 from Shitou Village or Jingxing County (井陉县; Jǐngxíngxiàn), or you can take the train from Shijiazhuang (6414, leaves at 06:38, back at 17:59)). For those who really love old towns. The dusty coalminers' town has two major attractions: a small but impressive section of the internal Great Wall, separating Shanxi from Hebei, a site of major battles from the sixth century on; and a beautiful village built on a stream, with private watermills run by many villagers (ask for Shuishangrenjia; 水上人家; Shuǐshàngrénjiā). 

Do

• Tianshan Sea World (天山海世界), 116 Tianshan Ave (桥东区高新技术产业天山大街116号). A family themed water park. 

Buy

Shijiazhuang is home to large wholesale markets and a good place for great bargains. Be prepared to haggle. There are also a number of very large modern department stores. One of them on the east side of the city is Yuhua Wanda, located on Huai An Lu just east of Century Park, features fast food and an IMAX movie theater, and numerous reasonably priced clothing stores.

Markets

• Behind and near Dong Fang are EGO, Tai He and Nan San Tiao, for wholesale shopping. Many items are pirated or ripped-off so make certain they work first.
• Nan San Tiao (南三条) is a region of markets extending north, east and westwards from its southern entrance, which is neighboring Le Hui Cheng. It is many buildings of wholesale goods. Each building has different goods. There are buildings for cosmetics, women's clothes, purses, children's toys, sheets and towels and many others.
• Huaite Tea City (怀特茶城) - tea market; many small shops and an entire building of shops - slightly north of Huai An, between YuCai and TiYu.
• Youyou Aquatic Food City (由由水鲜城). Seafood market and wholesale Western food (a random selection and never the same things twice). Moved from neighboring the former ShiDa campus to neighboring the Thermal Power Station in 2014.

Drink

• 1 Bar Angel (天使酒吧). Known for its specialty drinks, classic cocktails, and non-alcoholic options, the bar also allows patrons to request custom drinks from the bartender. (updated Sep 2023)

Sleep

Budget

• Home Inn (about three blocks from the train station). Allowed to accept foreigners. It is pretty clean and moderately priced. 
• Huiwen Hotel (汇文大酒店; Huìwén Dàjiǔdiàn)), 6 Zhanqian St (站前街; Zhànqiánjiē) (opposite the railway station), ☏ +86 311 87865818. Four-star hotel with rooms with desk and kettle. Karaoke, pool and fitness available. Also has a restaurant serving Honk Kong cuisine. Discounted rates for doubles from around ¥250. 

Mid-range

There is no problem finding higher priced accommodation and there is plenty of it.

Go next

Routes through Shijiazhuang

Beijing ←

N  S

→ Handan → Zhengzhou