Hengshui

Hengshui (Template:Lang-zh) is a prefecture-level city in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Shandong to the southeast. It borders Shijiazhuang City to the west, Xingtai City to the south, and Baoding City and Cangzhou City to the north. As of the 2020 census its population was 4,212,933 inhabitants, out of whom 805,000 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of Taocheng urban district. It is on the Beijing–Kowloon railway.

Hengshui has a long history and profound cultural heritage. During the Three Kingdoms period, Yuan Shao once stationed millions of troops in Jizhou to compete with Cao Cao. Dong Zhongshu, a great philosopher of the Western Han Dynasty and a great master of the Confucian school, was born in Hengshui Jing County. Hengshui now has two national-level cultural relics protection units: the Jingxian Fengshi Tombs and the Relic Pagoda, plus the Houzhong Han Tomb, Shuangzhong Han Tomb, Xiyuantou Han Tomb in Jizhou, the Qinglin Temple Pagoda in the old city, and the Taocheng District There are 19 provincial key cultural relics protection units including Baoyun Temple Pagoda.

Administrative divisions

Map
File:Administrative Division Hengshui.png Taocheng Jizhou Zaoqiang County Wuyi County Wuqiang County Raoyang County Anping County Gucheng County Jing County Fucheng County Shenzhou (city)
#	Name	Hanzi	Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2010 census)	Area (km2)	Density (/km2)
1	Taocheng District		Táochéng Qū	522,147	602.5	867
2	Jizhou District		Jìzhōu Qū	362,013	918	394
3	Shenzhou City		Shēnzhōu Shì	566,087	1,244	455
4	Zaoqiang County		Zǎoqiáng Xiàn	391,469	903	437
5	Wuyi County		Wǔyì Xiàn	315,693	830	380
6	Wuqiang County		Wǔqiáng Xiàn	214,549	442	485
7	Raoyang County		Ráoyáng Xiàn	280,498	573	490
8	Anping County		Ānpíng Xiàn	328,512	493	666
9	Gucheng County		Gùchéng Xiàn	487,025	941	518
10	Jing County		Jǐng Xiàn	528,693	1,183	447
11	Fucheng County		Fùchéng Xiàn	341,087	698	489

Hengshui City has 2 municipal districts, Taocheng District and Jizhou District, 1 county-level city Shenzhou City, 8 counties Zaoqiang County, Wuyi County, Wuqiang County, Raoyang County, Anping County, Gucheng County, Jingshui County County, Fucheng County.

Education

Hengshui High School and Hengshui University are located in Hengshui.

Hebei Hengshui Middle School, referred to as "Hengzhong", was founded in 1951 and is located in Hengshui City, Hebei Province. It is one of the three key high schools directly under the Hengshui Municipal People's Government.

Hengshui University is located in Hengshui City, Hebei Province. It is a full-time general higher education institution approved by the Ministry of Education.

The school was formerly the Sixth Normal School of Zhili, which was founded in 1923. In 1949, it was restructured into Hebei Jixian Normal School. In 1960, it was moved to Hengshui and renamed Hebei Hengshui Normal School. In 1978, with the approval of the State Council, Hengshui Normal College was established on the basis of Hengshui Normal School. On May 17, 2004, it was upgraded to Hengshui College. In 2016, the school became a provincial master’s program construction unit in Hebei Province.

Sights

Water Lake Scenic Area

Hengshui Lake National Nature Reserve is adjacent to Hengshui City to the north and Jizhou City to the south, with a total area of 268 square kilometers.

Its biodiversity is very rich, with inland freshwater wetland ecosystems and national Class I and II birds as the main protection objects. Noble cranes, beautiful swans, nimble gulls, and light egrets dance and play leisurely. Hengshui Lake is a wonderland on earth and a paradise for birds.

Luli Ancient Town is located on the bank of Hengshui Lake. It is built with the theme of Han culture and relies on the wetland scenery of Hengshui Lake. Inheriting the national spirit of advocating morality, courtesy and self-improvement, taking "Lv Li" as the cultural symbol and promoting the traditional Chinese culture as the core content. It is China’s first and only experiential study tour ancient town with the theme of traditional Chinese etiquette and filial piety culture that integrates “food, clothing, accommodation, transportation, learning, travel, shopping, and entertainment”. Luli Ancient Town is located on the east side of National Highway 106, Weitun Town, Binhu New District, Hengshui City, with a total area of 4,150 acres and a total investment of 2.5 billion yuan.

The Harrison International Peace Hospital is located in Hengshui. This comprehensive teaching and research hospital was named after Dr. Tillson Harrison, a martyr to the Chinese revolution. Dr. Harrison, a Canadian, died in 1947 while transporting medical equipment and supplies. Some of this equipment is on display in an exhibition room in the hospital. The hospital uses both traditional Chinese medicine and modern western diagnostic and therapeutic technology.

The city is renowned as the centre for inside painting, mainly of small snuff bottles. Zhang Rucai was born in Hebei Province and since 1972, he started to learn the art of inside painting. In April 1996, he was conferred the title Master of Chinese Folk Arts & Crafts by UNESCO. The city has a fascinating museum and exhibition of the art of the inside painter - many complex paintings done on the inside of small snuff bottles as well as special larger pieces of glassware.

There is a Buddhist Temple on the outskirts of the city and a bridge in the old part of the city - one of the few remnants of the old town.

• Hengshui Old Town Bridge
  Hengshui Old Town Bridge
• Hengshui Buddhist Temple
  Hengshui Buddhist Temple

Geography and climate

Hengshui has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSk), with hot, humid summers due to the East Asian Monsoon and very cold, mostly dry winters, owing to the prevailing dry north-westerly winds that reflect the influence of the vast Siberian anticyclone.

Precipitation totals 496.9 mm annually with more than three quarters falling during the summer half. Extreme temperatures range from -20.6 °C to 42.8 °C for the 1981-2010 period. Relative humidity is highest in the summer and lowest in the spring, preceding the monsoonal period. Due to the very dry winter conditions, snowfall is not common, though occurs almost every year, usually in small amounts.

File:Meteo fucheng.jpg

A meteorological station in a Stevenson screen in Hebei province, China

File:Hengshui City Hall.jpg

Hengshui City Hall, 2007

Air pollution

According to a survey made by "Global voices China" in February 2013, 7 cities in Hebei including Xingtai, Shijiazhuang, Baoding, Handan, Langfang, Hengshui and Tangshan, are among China's 10 most polluted cities.

Religion

Hengshui is the seat of the Catholic Diocese of Hengshui.

Gourmet food

Julu sausage is a very famous specialty food in Julu Village, Heyan Town, Taocheng District, Hengshui. This kind of delicacy has a long history and has been loved by local people for many years. First, it tastes good and is of high quality. Second, it uses Chinese medicinal materials that are beneficial to the human body as seasonings. Third, it is suitable for all seasons and you will never tire of eating it.

Wuyi Kouwan is a very famous special delicacy in Wuyi County, Hengshui. The dunwan mentioned here is not a dish but a table of steamed bowls. It consists of 8 local "clean bowls", including Dongpo meat, lean meat, fat meat, elbow meat, rice noodles, mixed meat, and meatballs., pork ribs form a bowl and mat, and the dishes are fat or lean, meat or vegetarian, fat but not greasy, plain and delicious, and are deeply loved by the masses.