Top 10 Attractions in Shijiazhuang, Things to do in Shijiazhuang

Now Shijiazhuang is only approx. one hour and twenty minutes' highspeed train ride from Beijing, making it convenient to travel between the two cities. But one thing to keep in mind is that almost all the major attractions in Shijiazhuang are located on the outskirts of Shijiazhuang. So when you arrive at Shijiazhuang, basically you need to find the local buses going to the highlights in Shijiazhuang. I've selected the top 10 attractions to visit in and around Shijiazhuang.

About 150,000 pieces of artifacts are on display with 5 National level treasures and 334 first class exhibits. The most interesting artifacts are the finds from Mancheng, Western Han tombs, including two jade Han burial suits, one of which is the suit sewn with 1.1kg of gold thread.

Entrance Fee: Free ( Bring your passport for entry) Opening Hour : 9:00 - 17:00 (closed in Monday) Add: No.4, Dongdajie, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 河北省石家庄市东大街4号 How to get there Buses 1,5,10,12,28,30,36,41,42,45,60,68,116,130,518,519,Tourism Bus 11 Tel: 0311 - 86049534, 86045642

The Zhaozhou Bridge was designed and built by the famous Li Chun. The bridge is about 50 meters long, 7.3 meters tall with a width of 9 meters. The span of its large stone arch in the middle measures 37.37 meters - the world's largest arch at that time. The bridge spans over the Xiaohe River.

The bridge remains in good shape, with carefully supported stone structures beneath, and elegantly carved balusters, crowned with stone guardians, making this a highly valued piece for modern architects.

Entrance fee: RMB40 Opening Time: 08:00-17:00 Location: in Zhaoxian County, 45km to the southeast of Shijiazhuang How to get there: First take the long-distance bus from Nanjiao Passenger Bus Station of Shijiazhuang (石家庄南焦客运站) to Zhaoxian County (赵县). You get off at Zhaoxian County ( one hour bus ride ). Then take the local taxi to Zhaozhou Bridge ( RMB 5-10, over 10 minutes ).

Originally built in 586 AD, the Longxing Temple occupies an area of around 50,000 square meters. Longxing Tenple's structures and the buildings still keep the Song architectural style. The main buildings comprise Hall of Deva Kings, Hall of Mahamuni, Altar of Vinaya, Pavilion of the Great Mercy and Temple of Amitabha.

The biggest draw in the temple is Monastery's most impressive statue, a 21 meter high bronze statue of Guanyin, Goddess of Mercy. She has a thousand hands and a thousand eyes, one of the four largest Buddha statues in the north China.

Entrance fee: RMB40 Opening Time: 08:00-16:00 Location: in Zhengding County, 18km north of Shijiazhuang How to get there: 1）Taxi from Shijiazhuang: RMB30 2. Take the public buses No.201 or 131 from Shijiazhuang to Zhengding County

Yujia Village is also known as Stone Village simply because the village is built with various kinds of stones. There are over 40,000 stone houses, stone pathways of over 3,700 meters, more than 1,000 stone wells and kiln pools and over 200 stone tablets. You also can find everything is made of stone - stone buildings, stone courtyards, stone stools, stone desks, stone mills, stone balusters and more. The most impressive is the stone multi-storey courtyard built in Ming Dynasty. The courtyard compound occupies an area of 650 meters with a hundred of rooms.

Entrance fee: RMB20 Opening Time: all day Location: In Jingxing Conuty, 60km west of Shijiazhuang How to get there:| First take the long-distance bus from Shijiazhuang's Xiwang Bus Station (西王客运站) to Jingxing County (井陉县), then connect the local bus for Yujia Village

The main draw is a Sui-dynasty palace spanning a precipitous gorge in the mountain. If you feel that you've seen it before, it is because the site was one of the locations for the hit film called "Crouching Tigers and Hidden Dragons".

Entrance fee: RMB50 Opening Time: 9:00 - 16:00 Location: 30km south of Jingxing Conuty, 70km west of Shijiazhuang How to get there:| First take the long-distance bus from Shijiazhuang's Xiwang Bus Station (西王客运站) to directly to Cangyan Shan. Starting at 7：00am and taking 2 hours.

Baoduzhai Mountain abuts Huabei Plain on the east, Taihang Peaks on the west, Jingxing ancient passage on the south of Jingxing. It looks high with stunning views though it only has a sea level of 580 meters.

It s beauty lies in the natural beauty of queer springs, flying waterfalls, ancient caves, mountain lights, mists, sunrise and sunset. It is also rife with ancient relics and historical artifacts scattered in the mountains - temples, tablets, carvings on the caves and more.

Entrance fee: RMB50 (high season); RMB30 (low season) Opening Time: 9:00 - 17:00 Location: 16 km west of Shijiazhuang

The architectural complex comprises two parts: the mansion and the street with an area of 37,000 square meters. The mansion has 212 chambers and 102 verandas.

Three roads divides the mansion: the east road, the middle road, and the west road. The middle road is the official yard of Jia Zheng, one of the novel’s characters, while the other two adopt Suzhou-style architecture. Now Rongguo Mansion has become a base for film and TV shooting.

Cao Xueqin memorial, the author of Dream of the Red Chamber is in the southeast part of the residence. The memorial’s pictures and objects vividly represent the notable events in Mr. Cao’s life.

Entrance Fee: RMB30 Add.: No.51, Xingrong Road, Zhengding County, Shijiazhuang Opening Time: 08:00-17:00 Take the public buses No.201 or 131 from Shijiazhuang to Zhengding County

In Xibaipo, the Party’s Central Committee commanded the Three Major Campaigns in t he Liberation War (Chinese Civil War). This village was also the site of the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Chinese Committee Party. In addition, many famous Chinese revolutionaries lived here, such as Mao Tse-tung, Liu Shao-Chi., Chou En-Lai, and Zhude. With an area of 13,400 square meters, the Xibaipo Memorial is constructed on a mountain side with two-storey courtyard. The advanced audio and video technologies are used to demonstrate the historical events and far-reaching repercussions of Xibaipo.

Add.: In the middle of Pingshan County, 80km northwest of Shijiazhuang Entrance: Free Opening Time: 08:30-17:30 (winter); 08:30-18:00 (summer); close on Monday and Sunday afternoon How to get there: Take the buses from Shijiazhuang North Station directly to Xibaipo.

The park is divided into two parts - The East Section and West Section. The East Section had several remaining sites related to the Boxing Uprising while the West Section is a summer resort with good natural environment.

Entrance Fee: Free Add: on the foot of Fenglong Mountain, about 20km to the southwest of Shijiazhuang Opening Time: 08:00-17:00 How to get there: Take bus 360 and 318

Tianguishan is famous for its historical buildings and natural landscape. Tianguishan is divided into two peaks - East Peak and West Peak. Most of the scenic spots are perched on the cliffs - Qinglong Taoist Temple, Wanfo Rock, Xuanwu Peak and more.

Entrance Fee: RMB65 Add: 95km to the northwest of Shijiazhuang. Opening Time: 08:00-18:00 How to get there: Take the buses from Shijiazhuang North Station directly to the Tianguishan Mountain.

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