More than Beijing’s backyard: Hebei in China, where historical treasures shine through the pollution

“I’ve been through Hebei a hundred times,” is a sentiment often slurred in backstreet Beijing bars. A province that girdles the twin municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin (with a combined population of 35 million) sees some serious traffic, but ask anyone if they’ve actually been to Hebei, and the conversation dissolves like sugar in hot tea.

“Hebei was, until 1928, named Zhili, which means ‘directly administered’,” says historian Jeremiah Jenne, who is also a writer and educator, as well as the leader of walk-and-talks through Beijing’s ancient quarters. “For centuries it was really an extension of the imperial capital that would have reached right to the walls of Andingmen.”

As my apartment is in spitting distance of Andingmen – an ancient city gate turned busy roundabout – this resonates. Does my view of concrete cover the estates of Ming princes or the hunting grounds of Manchu archers? In a country that has laid more cement in a decade than the United States did in a century, seeking out what remains of Zhili seems daunting.

To the southwest of Beijing, Baoding was the provincial capital until 1967 and is still Hebei’s largest city. It’s name, earned in the 13th century during the Mongol Yuan dynasty, means something like “Protecting the Capital”, so it seems like a good place to begin.

There is little suggestion of imperial China as I gaze from the railway station across a cityscape dominated by beige, identikit apartment blocks. The air is acrid; a combination of coal and veal – the donkey burger is Baoding’s celebrated culinary innovation. After wandering around a uniquely bland urban expanse, I find my way to the other side of the station, where a zesty city centre is revealed.