An Early Autumn Journey to Handan, the Ancient Capital of Idioms
"So close, yet so beautiful—spend the weekend in Hebei!"
This promotional slogan from Hebei's cultural tourism board is quite familiar, but in our previous travel plans, we had always neglected Hebei. When it comes to domestic travel, I have traveled north and south, but for Hebei, apart from the seaside areas like Beidaihe and Nandaihe, I had never even visited its capital, Shijiazhuang.
In early autumn, attracted by a travel agency's promotion, I decided to form a small group with my parents and visit Handan.
Originally, I planned a two-day weekend trip, but after careful research, I settled on a four-day itinerary.
1. Guangfu Ancient City, Handan Road Huiche Alley, and Idiom Street Night View
The first time I heard of Handan was shortly after starting work, when I met a colleague who was from Handan. At that time, my only impression of Handan was that it was located at the southernmost part of Hebei Province, relatively far from Beijing within Hebei.
High-speed trains have shortened the distance; now, a one- or two-hour ride can easily get you there.
Handan High-Speed Rail Station is not large; you exit the station and you're out of the hall. By a little after ten, we had picked up our rental car and headed straight to Guangfu Ancient City.
Guangfu Ancient City is the birthplace of Yang-style Taijiquan and Wu-style Taijiquan, holding a leading position in the world of Tai Chi. Inside and outside the ancient city, Tai Chi elements are everywhere. The parking lot is far outside the city. Under the blazing midday sun, we walked through the city's alleys, feeling an inescapable heat.
On both sides of the ancient city were two rows of shops, as if uniformly planned. Eighty to ninety percent of them were engaged in ancient costume photography services, which didn't interest us at all, and we found it boring. There were few restaurants, and even fewer shops selling small handicrafts. At that moment, I actually thought it would be nice to have the usual uniform souvenir shops. Seeing a restaurant, we decided to have lunch there.
Prominently displayed in the restaurant was a menu lightbox, with signature dishes listed first: crispy fish, donkey meat, and zeng elbow. The waiter explained that "zeng" means to tie up, and zeng elbow is made by tying the meat together. Not wanting crispy fish or donkey meat, we ordered a portion of zeng elbow, plus two vegetable dishes: vinegar-sautéed yam and Guangfu tofu skin. The taste was average—no surprises, no major disappointments.
After lunch, we continued strolling through the ancient city. The sesame seed cakes looked quite cute. The sun was strong. We had entered from the south gate, and as we approached the opposite gate, we hadn't seen any ancient mansions or former residences that required tickets to enter. Just as we were thinking of returning to the parking lot the same way, a small electric cart approached us, saying that the area we were walking was just the commercial street; the real sites to visit were not in this area. If we took her cart, she would take us around the whole tour. Without much hesitation, we got on the electric cart—walking was too tiring.
In the ancient city, we visited Guangping Prefecture Office, the Wu Family Old House, and the Wu Family Former Residence. The historic sites were well-preserved. The old houses were laid out with care, and the decorations reflected Chinese culture and aesthetics. Before leaving the ancient city, we climbed the ancient city wall. The thick city wall, built in the Ming Dynasty, still appeared solid and imposing. From the top, we had a panoramic view of the ancient city.
The Yang Family Former Residence was outside the south gate. We just took a photo at the gate without entering, considering it a check-in visit.
We returned to the hotel to rest. Our booked hotel was near the high-speed rail station. In the evening, we set out again, driving into Handan's old city area.
Handan Road is a cultural district that condenses historical and cultural essence. It has many cultural relics, historic buildings, and old structures. The architectural style features gray bricks and gray tiles, with small courtyard houses. The street layout has been passed down for over 600 years; many street names from the Ming Dynasty remain largely unchanged, clearly showing the ancient city's road texture, rich in historical and cultural information.
Handan Road Huiche Alley is the most representative historical and cultural alley in Handan. Legend says that Lin Xiangru made way for the old general Lian Po's carriage here, hence the name. At the entrance of the alley stands a stone tablet recording this historical story. A statue of a horse turning its head attracts many visitors to take photos.
Truly the capital of idioms, many shops are named after idioms, both interesting and culturally rich. When the lights came on, the ancient city, decorated with red lanterns, gained a touch of charm.
On the way back to the hotel, we deliberately chose Guangming Avenue, which is said to be the street with the strongest idiom atmosphere, known as Handan's famous "Idiom Street." Hanging high above the road were cross-street idiom light boxes, appearing every short distance, vividly displaying one idiom after another, as if telling stories. On both sides, large plane trees with white trunks had branches and leaves reaching toward the middle. Driving through this several-kilometer-long avenue felt like traveling through a tunnel of idioms.
It was already 8 p.m. We returned to the hotel and ordered KFC delivery. We went to bed early to rest, ready for the next day.
2. Xiangtangshan Grottoes, Xinyi Highway Stone Carvings, and Dawa Village
What I looked forward to most on this Handan trip was the natural scenery of the Xiangtangshan Grottoes. Perhaps it was because I had planned a trip to Maijishan Grottoes over the summer but couldn't make it, leaving me with a sense of regret.
Xiangtangshan Grottoes are the largest grotto complex in Hebei and one of China's three imperial grottoes, the other two being Yungang Grottoes and Longmen Grottoes. The grottoes were carved during the Northern Qi Dynasty, representing Buddhist sculpture art of the late Northern Dynasties. They house a large number of Buddha statues and stone-carved scriptures, with extremely high artistic and historical value.
The grottoes are divided into north and south sections; we visited the northern Xiangtangshan. The grotto complex is halfway up the mountain. We took the scenic area's electric cart, winding our way up. The complex is not large. According to the map, the main scenic area consists of three zones: the Great Buddha Cave, the Sakyamuni Cave, and the Sutra-Viewing Cave area. Each area required separate stone steps up and down, which we visited in order.
The grottoes are primarily carved from mountain stone, with exquisite, fine craftsmanship and smooth, natural lines. The Buddha statues, large and small, have varied expressions, lifelike and vivid. Unfortunately, many statues are incomplete, bearing scars of theft and damage, which was distressing and regrettable to see. The faded colors on the grotto surfaces still appeared moving. The ruins and broken walls, weathered by time, sighed silently.
As I grow older, I increasingly feel that appreciating the exquisite grotto art and experiencing the solemnity and mystery of Buddhist culture is a true pleasure.
The Xinyi Highway Sculpture is a Chinese intangible cultural heritage and the largest ceramic-themed mountain carving in China. By the side of the road, there was a temporary parking area, so we stopped to take a look.
One end of the stone carving introduces the thousand-year development history of China's Cizhou kiln ceramic culture. The long mountain carving is vivid and lifelike, depicting scenes of bustling labor, exotic customs, and joyful singing and dancing, showcasing the cultural charm of the millennium-old porcelain capital. The stone carvings are very tall and long; we walked along a short section and then drove back and forth twice to view the entire panorama.
It was still early, and since we were already out, we headed to Dawa Village.
Dawa Village is a stone village hidden deep in the Taihang Mountains, a popular internet-famous spot for Handan tours. We took a small electric cart deep into the village. The houses were built along the mountain slopes, on both sides of the mountain roads. The entire village uses stone as its building material. Houses, pavilions, overpasses, alleys, courtyards, tables, and benches are all carved from mountain stone.
There were not many tourists. This "Stone Kingdom" set against the backdrop of the Taihang Mountains appeared tranquil and beautiful.
The villagers were simple and honest. The electric cart took us back and forth, stopping anytime we wanted to take photos, costing only ten yuan per person.
After leaving the village, we had a simple lunch at the village entrance: two plates of dumplings. Then we returned to the hotel to rest.
In the evening, we had cross-bridge rice noodles at a shopping mall near the hotel. The taste was good, but we didn't find any local specialties.
3. Congtai Park and Huangliangmeng Immortal Temple
Today was a day tour of Handan's city attractions.
Congtai Park is a city central park centered around the Wuling Congtai, a Zhao cultural relic.
We entered the park from Congtai Square. In the center of the square stands a statue of King Wuling of Zhao.
Not far into the park is the Qin Shi Huang Birthplace Memorial Hall. It is a replica ancient building dominated by a yellow-earth tone, complete with stables, flower beds, rockeries, and pavilions, recording Qin Shi Huang's eight years of childhood in Handan.
After leaving the memorial hall, the manhole covers in the grass caught my attention. Painted with colorful patterns, they were scattered casually on the ground, each telling a different idiom story. Some were pure bronze-colored, looking antique, also telling idiom tales, highlighting the characteristics of the capital of idioms.
Wuling Congtai, where King Wuling of Zhao watched dances and military drills, is located in the center of the park. It is tall and conspicuous. We climbed up Congtai, enjoying a panoramic view of the surroundings.
The Seven Worthies Shrine honors seven virtuous people who made outstanding contributions to the founding and establishment of the Zhao state. In the center are Lin Xiangru and Lian Po.
The Huangliangmeng Lüxian Temple is a Quanzhen Taoist temple based on the Tang Dynasty legend "The Story of the Pillow." It was first built in the early Northern Song Dynasty, with the main structures being Ming and Qing dynasty buildings. There are many mottled steles. It is one of the largest and best-preserved Taoist temples in northern China. There were very few visitors. We toured each courtyard in order. The Eight Immortals Pavilion contains statues of the eight immortals, and the Dream Museum tells famous Chinese dream stories.
Yesterday, while browsing videos, I saw a restaurant that had a specialty called "steamed caimang" (a type of stuffed pastry). Although parking was difficult—we circled twice—we still went to eat there. The stir-fried dishes were generous in portion and tasty, and the caimang was full of filling. After eating half of one, I couldn't eat anymore.
Back at the hotel for a relaxing afternoon.
Just before departure, I happened to watch a live stream about Handan tourism, and I was attracted by the tree paintings on Idiom Street. In the evening, we set out again. Although I had searched online for the exact location of the tree paintings and passed several streets, I still didn't see the tree paintings from the video. Unwilling to give up, we drove along Guangming Avenue once more.
For dinner, we went back to the shopping mall. At a Qingdao-style restaurant, we had sea cucumber rice, which was rich in flavor, and seafood pimple soup, which made up for what I missed in Weihai.
Having visited all the places I had been looking forward to, we changed our train tickets and arrived home around noon on the fourth day.
Tracing the lingering charm of Yan and Zhao, savoring the historical ancient city—our Handan trip came to a perfect end.
September 2025
