Tangshan

Cradle of China's modern industry, where the Kailuan coal mine and Qixin cement works have become heritage parks and South Lake has been reborn from subsided land, plus Luanzhou Ancient City, the islands of Tangshan Bay and shadow puppetry.

Tangshan lies in eastern Hebei on the northern shore of the Bohai Bay, bordered by Qinhuangdao to the east and Tianjin to the west. It is the cradle of China's modern industry: the Kailuan coal mines, the Tangxu Railway, China's first steam locomotive and its first barrel of machine-made cement were all born here. Rebuilt after the 1976 earthquake, the city today takes the phoenix rising from the ashes as its emblem. Sightseeing in the city centres on three areas: in the south, South Lake Park and the Kailuan National Mine Park (together a national 5A-rated scenic area), where land subsided by coal mining has been transformed into an ecological lake district, with the Tangshan Banquet food complex and a shadow-puppet theme park nearby; in the centre, the Anti-Earthquake Monument Square, the Tangshan Museum and the Earthquake Ruins Memorial Park tell the story of the quake and reconstruction; in the northeast, Qixin 1889 and Dachengshan Park offer industrial heritage and city views from above. With the city as a base, easy day trips include evening visits to Luanzhou Ancient City to the east, the Li Dazhao Memorial and former residence in Laoting, island trips to Bodhi Island and Moon Island in Tangshan Bay, birdwatching in the Caofeidian wetlands, and Jingzhong Mountain in Qianxi and the Baiyangyu Great Wall in Qian'an to the north. The best season is May–Oct, with the islands in summer; winters are cold and dry. Tangshan Station has high-speed trains to Beijing and Tianjin (about 1 hour), and there is also Tangshan Sannühe Airport. Allow 2–3 days. Local specialties include qizi shaobing (bite-sized sesame buns), honey mahua twists, pingju opera and shadow puppetry.

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