保定市
A very old Hebei city with a famous academy and a donkey-burger
Why this place
Baoding has been an administrative centre for over a thousand years and was the capital of Hebei until 1968. Its old lotus pond garden is one of the best surviving classical gardens in northern China — quiet, formal and built around water.
What to see
- Gulianhuachi (Ancient Lotus Pond), a Yuan-dynasty garden with a stele collection
- The Zhili Governor's Office, the Qing-era provincial government compound
- Yesanpo, the mountain and river gorge area to the northwest
What to eat
- Donkey-meat burger (lürou huoshao) — Baoding is a strong claimant to having invented it
- Baoding-style fried dough and bean-paste noodles
Best time
April–May and September–October
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