Province View-china.org.cn

Governor: Ji Yunshi

Capital: Shijiazhuang

Government office address: 10 Weimingjie, Shijiazhuang City

Tel: 0311-709 2680

Website: www.hebei.gov.cn

Geographic location

The province is located in the northern part of the North China Plain extending into the Inner Mongolian Plateau. Beijing, the capital of China, and Tianjin, the important trading port in north China, are situated at the center of the province, although are not part of it. It adjoins Liaoning and Inner Mongolia in the north, Shanxi in the west and Henan and Shandong in the south. The Bohai Sea lies to the east of Hebei. Its coastline extends 487 km, and the total area of the province is 190,000 sq km.

Hebei 2004 - The Year in Review

General Economy
Gross domestic product (GDP)	GDP for 2004 was 883.69 billion yuan, up 12.9% from the previous year.
GDP ratio (primary, secondary and tertiary industries)	The primary industry yielded a value added of 137.04 billion yuan, 6.7% more than that of the previous year; the secondary industry, 470.34 billion yuan, a growth of 14.8%; the tertiary industry, 276.32 billion yuan, a growth of 12.5%.
Revenue and expenditure	Provincial revenue was 77.83 billion yuan, an increase of 22.6% over the previous year. Provincial expenditure was 75.32 billion yuan, an increase of 16.5%.
Consumer price index (CPI)	CPI was up 4.3% from the previous year.
Investment in fixed assets	Fixed asset investment was valued at 321.53 billion yuan, up by 28.8% from the previous year.
Major Industries
Agriculture	In 2004, the province's total grain output was 24.8 million tons, an increase of 3.9% from the previous year.
Industry	The industrial added value totaled 415.46 billion yuan, an increase of 15.1%.
High-tech	The total added value from high-tech industries was 24.29 billion yuan, up by 23.1%.
Construction	Its added value was 54.88 billion yuan, up by 12.7%.
Transportation	The annual volume of goods handled through various modes of transport was 25.5% up from the previous year while annual passenger flow was 21.1% up.
Postal services	The annual turnover of postal operations totaled 2.23 billion yuan, 6.2% up from the previous year.
Telecommunications	The annual turnover of telecommunications services totaled 40.97 billion yuan, up by 50.5%.
Retail	The annual turnover from retail sales reached 252.29 billion yuan, an increase of 15.8% from the previous year.
Tourism	Revenue from tourism totaled 35.04 billion yuan, up by 70.7% from the 2003 figure.
Continued Effects of Market Reform
Imports & exports	The annual value of imports and exports totaled US$13.53 billion, 50.7% up from the year before.
Economic and technological cooperation	Overseas project and labor contracts signed during the year were valued at US$530 million, up 41.6% from the previous year. Business turnover for the year totaled US$270 million, an increase of 31.2% from the previous year.
Foreign investment	The foreign direct investment which was materialized during the year stood at US$1.98 million, up by 27.0%.
Urban Construction and Management
Road transport	By the end of 2004, a total of 70,200 km of highways, including 1,706 km of express highways, had opened to traffic, increasing at a rate of 7.4% and 1.5% respectively. The rural highways connecting various villages amounted to 57,084 km.
Social Undertakings
Science and technology	The investment in scientific research and technological innovations totaled 8.41 billion yuan, up by 13.2% from the previous year.
Education	The number of students enrolled in postgraduate schools and institutions of higher learning during the year stood at 6,491 and 239,000 respectively.
Culture	By the end of 2004, the province had a total of 129 arts performance organizations, 97 cultural and arts centers, 148 public libraries, 44 museums and 205 archives.
Public health	At the end of 2004, there were 4,556 health and medical institutions staffed with 192,000 people and equipped with 162,000 beds.
Sports	In various international and national games, the athletes from the province won 46 golds, 41 silvers and 50 bronzes.
Welfare and aid	Various welfare units across the province were equipped with 60,000 beds and put up 41,000 homeless and vagrant people during the year. There were 10,000 urban community centers at the end of the year. The funds raised through selling welfare lottery totaled 280 million yuan in 2004. Public donations totaled 16 million yuan.
Poverty relief	The year saw a reduction of 250,000 people living in absolute poverty. They began to have enough food and clothing. About 450,000 rural residents began to have easy access to drinking water.
Population, Employment, Social Security and Living Standards
Population	The year 2004 saw births of 813,300, or a birth rate of 11.98‰, and deaths of 420,200, or a mortality rate of 6.19‰. The natural growth rate of the population stood at 5.79‰. At the end of the year, the total population stood at 68.09 million.
Employment	The employed population stood at 35.16 million, an increase of 454,000 from the previous year end. A total of 221,000 laid-off workers got re-employed.
Registered unemployment rate	The registered urban unemployment rate was 4.0%, an increase of 0.1 percentage points from the previous year end.
Social security	In 2004, insurance plans for medical treatment, unemployment and endowments covered a population of 4.73 million, 4.79 million and 6.83 million respectively. About 810,000 urban residents received minimum living allowance from the government.
Residents' income	The disposable income of urban residents was 7,951 yuan per capita, up by 9.8% from 2003. Rural residents' per capita net income was 3,171 yuan, a growth of 318 yuan from the previous year.
Residents' consumption	Urban residents' per capital consumption rose by 7.0% from the previous year while that of rural residents was up by 14.7%.
Geography and Natural Conditions
Elevation extremes	The topography of Hebei Province is composed of three major geomorphic features, of which the average height of the Bashang highland is 1,200-1,500 meters above sea level, making up 8.5% of the total area; meanwhile, Mt. Yanshan and Mt. Taihangshan, including hilly land and basins, mostly lie within an elevation below 2,000 meters, accounting for 48.1% of the total area. The Hebei Plain is part of the North China Plain, with an elevation mostly below 50 meters, accounting for 43.4% of the total provincial area.
Climate	The province lies in the temperate zone, with a continental monsoon climate. In most areas, the change of season is distinct, with yearly sunshine averaging 2,500–3,100 hours. The annual frost-free period lasts about 120 to 200 days; annual rainfall averages 300 to 800 mm. The monthly mean temperatures is 3℃ or below. The mean temperatures in July are 18 to 27℃, with a clear-cut change of seasons.
Natural resources	Water resources The province has a coastline extending 487.3 km, covering a total area of 1 million hectares. With this natural condition, the province can develop such industries as offshore petroleum oil drilling, marine chemical, marine transportation, and marine tourism. Qinhuangdao is a well-known ice-free port in north China. The Yellow River, Haihe River, and Luanhe River run across the province, where an offshore aquatic breeding industry can readily be developed. Mineral resources So far, a total of 116 varieties of mineral ores have been discovered, which the deposits of 74 have been surveyed. There are 45 mines whose reserves are among the national top 10. The province boasts two large coalmines at Kailuan and Fengfeng in addition to the North China oil field. Biological resources In the province, there are more than 3,000 species of plants, of which more than 140 are fiber plants, more than 1,000 are medicinal herbs and plants, and more than 100 are timbers. There are 300 or more kinds of forage grass, 140 kinds of oily plants, and more than 450 varieties of cultivated plants. Of them, the output of cotton makes up one-seventh of the nation's total and that of maize and fruits makes one-tenth of the nation's total respectively. There are 215 varieties of farming products in 12 major categories that can be listed as brand name and best products, or native or rare products. There are more than 20 varieties of medicinal herbs and materials for export.
Tourism resources	The province is the only one in the country that boasts highlands, mountainous and hilly areas, plains, lakes and a coastline. Across the province, there are 304 ancient ruins and groups of ancient buildings including 58 key relics under state protection. The number of historical and cultural relics in the province ranks first in the country along with Shaanxi Province. The total number of natural and human cultural scenic sites ranks second nationally. They include the Chengde Summer Resort, Shanhaiguan Pass at the head of the Great Wall, Beidaihe holiday resort, the Eastern and Western Tombs of the emperors of the Qing Dynasty.