Hebei

Hebei (UK: /ˌhɜːˈbeɪ/ or /həˈbeɪ/, UK: /ˈhʌˈbeɪ/, Chinese: 河北^ⓘ; lit. 'River North'; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0.3% Mongol. Three Mandarin dialects are spoken: Jilu Mandarin, Beijing Mandarin and Jin.

Hebei borders the provinces of Shanxi to the west, Henan to the south, Shandong to the southeast, Liaoning to the northeast, and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to the north. Hebei province additionally borders the direct-administered municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin, whose territory it (together with the Bohai Sea) it entirely encloses. Its economy is based on agriculture and manufacturing. The province is China's premier steel producer, although the steel industry creates serious air pollution.

Five UNESCO World Heritage Sites can be found in the province, the: Great Wall of China, Chengde Mountain Resort, Grand Canal, Eastern Qing tombs, and Western Qing tombs. It is also home to five National Famous Historical and Cultural Cities: Handan, Baoding, Chengde, Zhengding and Shanhaiguan.

Historically, during the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, the region was ruled by the Chinese Yan and Zhao states. During the Yuan dynasty, the region was called the Zhongshu Province. It was called North Zhili during the Ming dynasty, and Zhili Province during the Qing dynasty. The modern-day province of Hebei was created in 1928.