Hebei activity map
Hebei is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei. The name Hebei means "north of the river", referring to its location completely above the Yellow River.
In 1928, Hebei was formed after the central government dissolved the province of Chih-li, which means "Directly Ruled.
Beijing and Tianjin Municipalities, which border each other, were carved out of Hebei. The province borders Liaoning to the northeast, Inner Mongolia to the north, Shanxi to the west, Henan to the south, and Shandong to the southeast. Bohai Bay of the Yellow Sea is to the east. A small part of Hebei, an exclave disjointed from the rest of the province, is wedged between the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin.
A common alternate name for Hebei is Yānzhào, after the state of Yan and state of Zhao that existed here during the Warring States Period of early Chinese history.