Baoding
Baoding is a prefecture-level city in central Hebei province, approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) southwest of Beijing.
As of the 2020 census, Baoding City had 11,544,036 inhabitants, of which 2,549,787 lived in the metropolitan area made of 4 out of 5 urban districts: Lianchi, Jingxiu, Qingyuan, and Mancheng all of which are largely conurbated. Accounting for about one-sixth of the population of Hebei Province. At the end of 2024, the city's resident population is 9,046,200, of which the urban resident population is 5,527,200. Baoding is among 13 Chinese cities with a population of over 10 million, ranking seventh. Zhuozhou City in the northern part has now grown into part of the Beijing metro area.
Getting to Baoding
Inter-provincial bus travel to Baoding from Beijing Capital International Airport and Beijing Daxing International Airport. High speed rail from Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport to Baoding East takes about 30 minutes.
Worth seeing
- 01Tangut
The Western Xia empire was destroyed by the Mongols in the 14th century, however a community of Tangut people from the Western Xia erected these pillars far away in Baoding in the 16th century.
- 02Baoding Museum
- 03Baoding Natural History Museum
- 04Office of the Viceroy of Zhili
- 05Baoding Zoo
- 06Baoding Military Academy Museum
Things to do
Fuping Cat Village (阜平猫村), Longquanguan Town. A small rural village known for its large population of free-roaming cats. Access is mainly by self-driving, as there is only one main road leading into the village and public transport options are limited. The cats are generally calm and friendly. Many walls in the village are decorated with graffiti murals created by local residents.
Where to eat
Baoding is famous around China for donkey burgers (驴肉火烧), which are sandwiches stuffed with donkey meat. Laolütou Donkey Burger (Intangible Cultural Heritage Branch) (老驴头驴肉火烧非遗店), No. 555-2 Ruian Road, Lianchi District,. Daily 06:30–21:00. A well-known local spot for donkey meat burger (lǘròu huǒshāo), popular with residents.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.