Hebei or Hopei, province (1994 est. pop. 63,660,000), 78,900 sq mi (204,404 sq km), NE China, on the Bohai, an arm of the Yellow Sea. The capital is Shijiazhuang. The province contains two autonomous municipalities administered directly by the central government: Beijing, the capital of China, and Tianjin, a major port. Another large port on the relatively unindented coast line is Qinhuangdao. Other important cities are Tangshan and Baoding. Hebei is mountainous in the north and the west, where rich iron and coal deposits are extensively mined. The province also has extensive deposits of oil and natural gas. S Hebei is part of the North China Plain. The land is fertile and rainfall is adequate, but until water conservation programs were instituted, the province was subject to severe drought and flooding. These recent improvements, along with the enlargement of farms and the expansion of mechanization, have greatly increased agricultural output. Hebei is a major cotton-producing province and an important producer of wheat. Other crops include rice, millet, sorghum, potatoes, sweet potatoes, barley, corn, soybeans, and fruit. Stock raising is important, and fishing and salt production are significant along the coast. Heavy industry (mainly metallurgical, iron and steel, machinery, and textile) is concentrated in and around Beijing, Tianjin, and Tangshan. Many light manufactures, such as ceramics, paper, and processed foods, are also produced in the province. With many good roads and railroad systems centering on Beijing, Tianjin, and Shijiazhuang, and with the Grand Canal and other excellent waterways, Hebei has one of the best communications systems in China. One of the earliest regions of Chinese settlement, Hebei has many prehistoric sites. Parts of the former provinces of Jehol and Chahar were incorporated into Hebei in 1956. The province was formerly called Chi and Chihli. Hebei Univ. is in Tianjin.

or Ho-peh conventional Hopeh formerly Chihli

Province (pop., 2002 est.: 67,350,000), northern China. It is bordered by the Bo Hai (Gulf of Chihli), the provinces of Liaoning, Shandong, Henan, and Shanxi, and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region; Beijing and Tianjin municipalities are enclaves within it. It has an area of 78,200 sq mi (202,700 sq km). Its capital is Shijiazhuang. Historically a chief barrier to northern invasion, it contains part of the Great Wall of China. From 1644 to 1911/12 it was ruled by the Qing dynasty. It was occupied by the Japanese in 1937 and taken by the Chinese communists in 1949. The provincial capital was at Baoding until 1958, when it was transferred to Tianjin, and in 1966 it returned to Baoding. In 1968 the provincial capital was moved to Shijiazhuang. Culturally and economically, Hebei is the most advanced province in northern China. The North China Plain, covering southern Hebei, has been inhabited by humans for several millennia. The fossil remains of Homo erectus pekinensis were discovered there.

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