Location: situated in the middle south of Hebei province; on the Huabei Plain; between 3804' north latitude and 11429' east longitude; with Beijing and Tianjin in the north and the Bohai Sea and Huabei oil field east; leaning against the Taihang Range and bordering on the Shanxi province in the west

Neighboring Areas: Beijing and Tianjin Municipalities; Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, and Liaoning provinces; Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

Physical Features: the urban district with smooth terrain; higher in the west and lower east; dotted with lakes

Population: 8.60 million
Urban Population: 1.50 million
Area: 15,848 sq km

Nationalities: Han, Hui, Manchu, Korean and Mongolian

History: originally set up in earlier Ming dynasty; used to be the collecting and distributing center for goods to Yan, Zhao and San Jin; having the fame of "the thoroughfare between north and south, the throat of Yan (Shandong province) and Jin (Shanxi province)"; used to be called "Shijia city", "Shimen city", etc

Climatic Features: located in the temperate zone, enjoying the continental climate; four seasons clearly demarcated with cold winter and hot summer; with frost-free period of 200 days

Average Temperature: 13C annually; annual average sunshine more than 2400 hours
Rainfall: annual even precipitation 570 mm; maximum average humidity 62 percent.

Mountains: Mt. Taihang and Mt. Cangyanshan

Rivers: Hutuohe River, Cihe River, Dashahe River, Jiaohe River, Huaishahe River, Yehe River and Gantaohe River

Local Highlights: Xuanhua pear, honey peach, date, walnut, apple, Jingjing Lahua - the northern Yangge

Source: travelchinaguide.com