Handan

Handan (邯郸 Hándān) is a city in Hebei. It has a population of over 9.4 million people (2015).

By plane
Flights to Chongqing, Dalian, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai Pudong, Shanghai Hongqiao. Official website (Chinese).

By train
High speed G trains arrive in Handan East Railway station. Slow trains arrive in Handan Railway station, in the center of the city.

By bus
Long distance bus depart from the bus station near the old Railway Station (邯郸长途汽车站). You can check the schedule online, but you have to go to the bus station to buy your ticket. Usually you don't have to book and you just need to arrive a few minutes in advance to catch your bus.

Get around
Buses in Handan, as in any large city in China, are frequent and cheap: just ¥1 for a journey, whatever the distance. Bus with air conditioner will charge ¥2. bus map

Taxis are plentiful with the flag-drop just ¥6.

Historical sites

 * Mother of Grace Cathedral in Daming (大名宠爱之母堂). Take the bus in Handan East Bus Station to Daming. This cathedral was built in 1918 by French missionaries.
 * Guangfu Ancient City (广府古城). A typical northern Chinese ancient town surrounded by an artificial river. The city wall stands ten meters tall. The original wall was built in the Tang Dynasty. The residence of Wu Yuxiang, a Tai Chi Chuan master, was built in the late Qing Dynasty and is well preserved. A Tai Chi-themed park will be built near the house. To go to Guangfu take the 605路 bus:bus map. You can also cycle to Guangfu, it takes 2 hours from Handan Opera through Renmin Lu (large road with a bicycle lane) or 3 hours trough little villages.
 * Jinjiluyu Martyrs Cemetery (晋冀鲁豫烈士陵园 Jìnjìlǔyù lièshì língyuán) - a cemetery of soldiers and heroes who died during the war against Japan. A tomb for a chief-of-staff of the army is also here.
 * Dragon Lake Park (龙湖公园 Lónghú gōngyuán) - a park beautifully illuminated at night.
 * Xiangtangshan Grottoes (响堂山石窟 Xiǎngtángshān shíkū) - the Xiangtangshan Grottoes are caves carved into the mountain as temples. They are the largest grottoes ever discovered in Hebei and also one of the largest religious grottoes in China. Digging of the grottoes began during the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577) and continued through the Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties. There are 16 grottoes and about 4,000 statues on the north and south sides of the mountain. The distance between the north and south sides are about 15 km. Hours: 08:00-17:30PM. Admission: ¥40. How to get there: Travelers can take a bus from Handan West Railway Station to Pengcheng city or take the No. 5 bus from Handan East Railway Station and get off at the Southern Xiangtangshan Grottoes stop. Travellers to the Northern Xiangtangshan Grottoes can take the No. 4 bus.
 * Wahuang Palace (娲皇宫 Wāhuánggōng) - also well-known as Grandma Temple (奶奶顶 Nǎinɑidǐng), it was first built during the Northern Qi Dynasty (550 - 577), constructed in remembrance of Nuwa, a goddess in Chinese mythology. The temple is built along the contours of a mountain amid beautiful scenery. It's far from Handan city center, but only 10 km from She County (涉县). Hours of operation: 08:30-17:00. Admission: ¥60.

Buy
At the crossing of 邯山街 and 贸易路 a lot of small shops can be found selling everything from pigeons and vegetables to kitchenware.



Eat
Eat a traditional Chinese breakfast on the street. Street vendors usually serve breakfast from 06:00-09:00, some of which are type of soup such as 豆浆, 豆沫, 豆腐脑儿, 小米粥, 胡辣汤. You can drink it with 油条, deep fried dough sticks that can be sweet or salted. There are vendors in each street, for instance in front of the Renmin Street Mosque or on Congtai Street in front of 政通小区.



Sleep

 * Congtai Grand Hotel (丛台大酒店) is probably the best address in town. Rooms from ¥360. At Renmin East Road near the Congtai Park (河北省邯郸市人民东路126号).

Go next
Many destinations from the bus station or the railway station. For instance you can go to Mount Tai (泰山) from the long distance bus station. It takes 5 hours and costs ¥87.