(1)外文名称: Shijiazhuang City
    (2)中文名称: 石家庄市
    (3)内容:
                    Shijiazhuang City
    As the capital of Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang is a city
approved by the State Council to enjoy the same preferential policies as coastal open cities. Located in the central south of Hebei Province in the North China Plain, Shijiazhuang has
under its jurisdiction six districts, 12 counties and five
county level cities, with a total area of 14,077 sq km and a
total population of 8.4627 million. The city proper of
Shijiazhuang covers an area of 307 sq km and has a population of 1.4772 million.
    Shijiazhuang was initially established in 1925. On October 7,1939, it was formally established as a city then called Shimen City. On December 26, 1947, it was renamed as Shijiazhuang City.
    After decades of development, Shijiazhuang has become a major central city in North China. In 1992, Shijiazhuang ranked 25th place among the 50 Chinese cities in terms of comprehensive economic strength. In 1995, it generated a domestic gross product of 54.5 billion yuan (Renminbi), with the per capita GDP reaching 6,440 yuan (Renminbi). Of the GDP, the primary industry generated 10.6 billion yuan (Renminbi), or 19.4%, the secondary industry 26.1 billion yuan (Renminbi), or 47.9%, and the tertiary industry 17.8 billion yuan (Renminbi), or 32.7%. It has established a comprehensive industrial structure with a relatively rational distribution, comprising the main sectors such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, machinery, chemicals, building materials, the light industry and electronics. The city has more than 3,200 industrial enterprises above the township level.
    The farming sector of Shijiazhuang is one of the largest producers of farm products in Hebei Province, including grain, vegetables, meat and eggs, with the per capita output ranking among the highest in provincial capitals in China. In the mountainous areas in western Shijiazhuang, there are large reserves of minerals of high quality, including the proven deposit of limestone of 1-1.5 billion tons, and the known deposit of iron ore of 27 million tons in addition to large deposits of marble, granite and dolomite.
    Shijiazhuang has become a major distribution center for commodities in China, with 130,000 networks of commercial, catering and service outlets, more than 100 large and medium-sized department stores and trading centers for industrial and farm goods and other material supplies, and 630 markets of various types.
    Shijiazhuang has a powerful force of science and technology,
with more than 460 scientific R&D institutions at and above the city level, as well as more than 140,000 scientific and technological personnel. There are 431 scientific and technological personnel for every 10,000 local residents. The rate of contribution by science and technology to economic growth is 35%. With an area of 18 sq km, the Shijiazhuang High
and New Technology Industrial Development Zone is a member of the first group of 27 national-level high and new technology development zones approved by the State Council. Nearly 1,000 enterprises have undertaken projects in this development zone.
    Shijiazhuang has more than 20 colleges and universities as
well as more than 50 secondary technical schools. For every
10,000 local residents, there are 1,321 university and secondary technical school students and graduates. Sixteen of the 23 counties (or cities) and districts of Shijiazhuang have made  the nine-year compulsory education universal.
    With relatively developed communications utilities, convenient telecommunications conditions and complete infrastructure, Shijiazhuang enjoys a favorable investment environment. As a major railway hub in China, Shijiazhuang is the meeting place of three major railway lines, namely, the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway Line, the Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan Railway Line and the Shijiazhuang-Dezhou Railway Line. The Shijiazhuang Railway Station is a major transfer station in North China for both passenger and cargo trains and is also one the three largest marshalling yards in China. Shijiazhuang has a complete traffic system extending to all directions. As the two-way Beijing-Shijiazhuang Expressway has been fully opened, one needs to drive for more than two hours only from  Shijiazhuang to Beijing. At present, the Hebei Section of the Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan Expressway has opened to traffic, while the Shi-An Section of the Beijing-Shenzhen Expressway is under construction. The Shijiazhuang Airport has opened air routes to large and medium-sized cities in China and will successively open international air routes soon. As one of the four largest  ail processing hubs in China, the Shijiazhuang Post Office has opened express mail services to 174 other Chinese cities as well as to 168 other countries and regions. The Shijiazhung Telecommunications Building is a major pivot of the telecommunications networks for areas south of Beijing. It is capable of offering direct telecommunications contacts to more than 700 cities and counties in China as well as to more than 190 countries and regions. All the telephone services in urban areas of Shijiazhuang are program-controlled, with the capacity of the city's telephone switchboards reaching 600,000 lines. Every 100 local residents have 24.13 telephone sets on average. Urban areas of Shijiazhuang are rationally distributed, with the functions of each area relatively complete. Highways of the city are distributed as well-established networks, with a total of 15 overpasses integrating the city as a whole. The establishment of the city's second ring road has greatly improved the traffic conditions of the whole city.
    The city's capacity of tap water supply has reached 1.6 million tons daily. Its daily supply of gas for both industrial production and the life of residents has reached 3.585 million
cu m. Approximately 95% of the local residents use gas as fuel in their daily life. The supply of heat has reached 10,000 tons of steam daily. Roughly 29.2% of the urban areas have been
covered by trees and grass. Shijiazhuang has been rated among the "top ten" Chinese cities in terms of environmental sanitation and protection.
    As Shijiazhuang has many scenic spots and historical sites, the city's tourist industry is thriving. Xibaipo -- a sacred place of the Chinese revolution -- was once the site of the
Headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee at wartime. The Great Zhaozhou Stone Bridge, called the "No. 1   bridge under the heaven," has been honored as an outstanding model of stone arch bridges in the world history of bridge construction. At the Cangyanshan and Zhangshiyan scenic spots, wooded mountain peaks are connected to one another, producing attractive scenes of landscape. The great bronze Buddha and the color statue of the Goddess of Mercy at the Longxing Temple in the ancient city of Zhengding are rated as treasures of ancient Chinese arts of casting and sculpture.