Current Time in Handan, China

Handan is a prefecture-level city in the southern part of Hebei Province in northern China, located in the southwestern Hebei plain near the borders of Shanxi and Henan provinces. With a total population of approximately 9.4 million people in the prefecture, Handan is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in China, with a history spanning over three thousand years and a remarkable cultural legacy as the ancient capital of the Zhao State during the Warring States period.

Handan's historical pedigree is extraordinary even by Chinese standards. The city served as the capital of the Zhao Kingdom from 386 to 228 BC and was during the Warring States period one of the most important and sophisticated cities in the world. At its height, Zhao Handan had a population rivaling the great cities of the contemporary Mediterranean world and was a center of commerce, culture, and military power. The city's long history has given rise to an unusual number of Chinese idioms and historical allusions specifically associated with Handan, including the famous phrase to learn the Handan walk, meaning to imitate others so clumsily that you forget how to do things naturally, derived from a classical tale about an overcager imitator in the city.

The Handan area contains numerous significant historical and archaeological sites. The ruins of the ancient Zhao capital, including earthen platform structures and the remains of defensive walls, survive within and around the modern city. The Xuanwu Rock, the Congtai Platform where Zhao kings once reviewed their troops, and the Temple of the Cheng Tangdi are major historical attractions. The city's museums document the remarkable Bronze Age, Iron Age, and early imperial history of this strategically important region.

Handan became a major heavy industrial center during the 20th century, particularly in iron and steel production, coal mining, and related industries, reflecting the broader industrial development of the southern Hebei region. The city has been working to diversify and modernize its economy while managing the environmental legacy of heavy industry.

Handan is also notable within China for its tradition of Taijiquan, or tai chi, as the Chen-style Taijiquan, considered the original and oldest style of this famous martial art, was developed by the Chen family in nearby Wenxian in Henan, which is deeply connected culturally to the broader Handan region.

Transportation links include expressways connecting Handan to Beijing, Zhengzhou, and other major cities, as well as the high-speed Beijing-Guangzhou railway line running through the prefecture.

Handan's extraordinary depth of history, its status as the birthplace of numerous Chinese cultural concepts and idioms, and its role as a significant northern Chinese industrial city combine to make it a place of genuine richness and complexity for those willing to explore beyond China's more familiar destinations.