Shijiazhuang
3 min readHistory
It is originally set up in earlier Ming dynasty；used to be the collecting anddistributing center for goods to Yan，Zhao and San Jin；having the fame of“the thoroughfare between north and south，the throat of Yan（Hebei province）and Jin（Shanxi province）”；used to be called“Shijia city”，“Shimen city”，etc.
Geographical Situation
Location:situated in the middle south of Hebei province；on the Huabei Plain；between 38°04’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.
Shijiazhuang is a major hub for China’s rail network and home to the biggest People’s Liberation Army School and the biggest pharmaceutical factory in China.It is also a center for the study of traditional Chinese medicine.
Physical Features:the urban district with smooth terrain；higher in the west and lower east；dotted with lakes 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：13℃ annually；annual average sunshine more than 2400 hours Rainfal1：annual even precipitation 570 mm；maximum average humidity 62 percent.
Economy
Shijiazhuang’s comprehensive market occupation and comprehensive employment growth are fairly good，but its comprehensive economic growth and comprehensive per-capita income level are fairly low.
Shijiazhuang’s talent competitiveness puts it in 25th place.Its human resources education level is very high，but the demand of emerging industries for personnel with enterprising spirit is quite small.
Shijiazhuang’s capital competitiveness is above average.Bank loans and private venture capital are easy to access，as there are plentiful financial institutions with wide service coverage.The city’s financial control capacity is fairly strong，but the capital quality is very poor.
Though Shijiazhuang has many universities and scientific research institutions，there has been no obvious improvement in its scientific and technological strength or scientific innovation，and the effects of the commercialization of scientific findings haven’t been fully demonstrated.In addition，the growth of high-tech industry is relatively slow.
Regarding structural competitiveness，Shijiazhuang has an advanced industrial structure and a fairly good industrial aggregation foundation.The coordination between its urbanization and industrialization，and the adaptability of its economicsystem are mediocre，and its economic system is not yet complete owing to inadequate service outlets.
Shijiazhuang’s construction of IT infrastructure facilities is developing rapidly，but the lack of a sound port，aviation and road network hampers the city’s competitiveness.Besides，the cost of infrastructure facilities is very high.
The location-based competitiveness of Hebei’s capital city is not high.Except for its good political and cultural locations，Shijiazhuang does not have much of an advantage in its natural and economic locations or resources supply.
Shijiazhuang’s environmental competitiveness is in 48th place，with low indices of urban environment comfort and natural and artificial environment compatibility Great efforts are needed to improve the urban artificial environment.
Speaking of Shijiazhuang’s cultural competitiveness，the city is only average in terms of value orientation，innovation climate and communications ethics.
There has been no obvious progress in its institutional competitiveness.Th city’s property rights protection is unsatisfactory，and its micro economy decision-making lacks flexibility.Shijiazhuang government’s weak financial strength hinder its planning and service provision capacity.Efforts should be made to strengthenthe protection of property rights and legal construction，as well as to cultivate the market.The city also needs to open wider and add more vigor to its economy.
The indices of the items concerning Shijiazhuang’s opening-up competitiveness are all fairly low，leaving much room for improvement.
