Handan Travel Guide

Chinese Name: 邯郸 (hán dān)
Population: 952,800
Area: 12,073.8 square kilometers (4,661.72 square miles)
Location: in the south of Hebei Province, north China
Administrative Division: 6 districts (Congtai, Fuxing, Handan, Fengfeng Mining, Feixiang, Yongnian); 1 county-level city (Wu’an); 11 counties (Jize, Qiuxian, Quzhou, Guantao, Shexian, Guangping, Cheng’an, Weixian, Cixian, Linzhang, Daming); 1 new district (Jinan); 1 high and new technology industrial development zone
Area Code: 0310
Zip Code: 056000
GDP (2019): CNY 348.6 billion (USD 50.53 billion)

Located in the south of Hebei Province, it is in the communication center of Hebei, Henan, Shanxi and Shandong within 200 kilometers (124 miles) away from the capital cities of these four provinces and about 450 kilometers (280 miles) from Beijing and Tianjin. Being an important transportation hub, Handan possesses the integrated transport means of railway, highway and aviation, which can serve 13 cities nearby with a population of 70 million. Handan is also a famous historical and cultural city. Among the idioms and allusions people use in daily life, there are 1,584 of them from Handan or related to Handan. A large amount of historic sites including mausoleums, temples, inscriptions on a tablet and grottoes are now highlights  of Handan tourism. The Wahuang Palace, Jingniang Lake and Xiangtangshan Grottoes are the most popular attractions. Travelers can get deep cultured in this ancient city and learn about the interesting idioms.

Wahuang Palace

Commonly referred to as "Nainai Ding" (Grandma Temple), Wahuang Palace is located in Fenghuang Mountain in northwestern Shexian County and about 68 miles to the west of Handan City. First built in Northern Qi Dynasty (550 - 577), it was constructed in remembrance of Nuwa, a goddess in Chinese mythology. The whole structure was built along the contour of the mountain. The elegance of the construction demonstrates the ingenuity and high level of Chinese ancient architecture.
 

Jingniang Lake

Jingniang Lake is an enchanting land with green hills and clear water. It is located in the northwest of Wuan city and about 37 miles away from Handan City. Its name originated from the touching story of Zhao Kuangyin, the first emperor of the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) who sent off the girl he rescued, Jingniang.

Embraced by verdant mountains, Jingniang Lake is picturesque with a variety of both natural and artificial formations. The latter is ever so vividly created that they blended well into the environment and were created based on historical stories. There are 18 scenic sights in all, including Gaoxia Pinghu (Calm Lake Rising from the Steep Gorge), "Fury Lion Raises Its Head", Jingniang Gorge, Songzu Gorge and Xianling Gorge.

Jingniang Lake was originally known as Koushang Reservoir which is the inverted Chinese character "人" and has eastern and western branches. After years of exploration and development, it has become a tourist resort.
 

Xiangtangshan Grottoes

Construction began in the year of 550AD. The sight is comprised of 16 grottoes with thousands of Buddha statues and offers a good opportunity to study Buddhist architecture, caving, painting and Calligraphy.

How to get to Handan

Handan Airport, 14 kilometers (9 miles) to downtown, has opened direct flights to/from about 18 domestic cities, including Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Chongqing... To get to downtown, passenger can take airport shuttle bus, city bus line 604 and taxi.

Transport from Handan to Beijing, Tianjin and Shijiazhuang is very convenient. Visitors can depart from there by train or long-distance bus to these big cities. The trips take respectively about 5, 6 and 2 hours.

See more Beijing to Handan Train

 History: The Cishan Culture made this area a glowing pearl in Central Plain of China about 8,000 years ago. As the most time-honored city in Hebei, Handan was the capital of Zhao Kingdom in Warring States Period (476BC-221BC) as a political, economic and cultural center of northern China. In Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), it enjoyed a high reputation as one of the five essential cities of China. Then it gained its name for the Hanshan Mountain in the east of the city.

 Physical Features: The city lies at the east foot of Taihang Mountains, and borders the North China Plain in the east. Euptelea and Wild Herbal Flowers of Taihang Mountains are the unique plant of Handan City. It also has rich reserves of coal and iron.

 Local Specialities: Donkey meat sausage, Congtai wine, Cizhou pottery

 Local Highlights: As an old city with thousands of years of history, Handan has inherited a rich cultural heritage, such as Chinese idioms and legends, folk arts, such as Buddhist temple music, Shan Gu Wu (dance with fans and drums), and Yongnian Tai Chi (a style of Tai Chi originating in Yongnian County).