Handan, Hebei Province, is located at the southern end of Hebei Province, at the eastern foot of the Taihang Mountains . It borders the Taihang Mountains to the west, the North China Plain to the east, and borders the three provinces of Shanxi, Shandong and Henan. Handan is a national historical and cultural city with a history of 3,100 years. It gave birth to the early Neolithic Cishan culture 8,000 years ago; Warring States Handan was the capital of Zhao State . The word "Handan" has been used as a place name for three thousand years and has not been changed. It is a special case of Chinese place name culture. Handan is the strategic hub of the four provinces of Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong and Henan, the heart of the Central Plains Economic Zone, and an important transportation hub in North China. The Beijing-Guangzhou Railway and the Beijing-Guangzhou High-speed Railway run through the north and south. The Handan-Changchun Railway and the Handan-Jiji Railway run from east to west. The Han-Huang Railway runs directly to Huanghua Port. , Beijing-Shenzhen Expressway , Daguang Expressway, Taihang Mountain Expressway run through the north and south, and the transportation is convenient.
Below, through a set of photos, the editor will take you into Handan in 1939, and let’s take a look at what Handan looked like eighty years ago.
In the photo, several rickshaw pullers waiting for passengers are sitting in the square in front of the train station, taking a rest and chatting. One of them's wife had just given birth to a big fat boy, and he was sharing the joy with everyone. From the smile on his face, he could clearly feel the joy of being a father for the first time in his life. In Handan in the 1930s and 1940s, rickshaws like this were the main means of transportation. Farmers living around the train station could make a living by relying on such a tricycle to attract passengers.
Two Japanese women wearing kimonos and holding parasols were walking through the streets of Handan. After Handan was occupied by the Japanese army, some Japanese soldiers brought their families to China. Women wearing Japanese kimonos often walked through the streets. Handan has become the home of the Japanese. In the photo, there are two bicycles parked in front of a small restaurant with the sign "Gonghexiang" written on the door, and a man is standing on the front steps. At that time, those who could ride bicycles were basically Japanese, or spies and traitors.
This photo shows several workers refreshing the old city gate of Handan. This old city gate of Handan was built in the Song Dynasty . It has been renovated several times in subsequent dynasties and remains standing. By the 24th year of Jiajing's reign (1545), Handan City had expanded in size. "The city was eight miles in circumference, the city wall was three feet thick, twenty-five enemy towers were built, three pavilions were erected on the towers, and the four city gates were each built in layers." The Handan City in the photo should have been built in the 24th year of Jiajing's reign, and had gone through four hundred years of ups and downs. There was a policeman sitting at the gate of the city, people riding bicycles coming in and out of the city tower, and a Japanese soldier standing by the city wall.
This photo was taken at Handan Railway Station in 1939. At that time, Handan Railway Station was one of the major stations on the Pinghan-Hankou Railway. There were not many passengers coming and going in the station. A policeman and a platform staff were standing chatting. At that time, it was the era when the anti-Japanese war was at its peak. Handan Railway Station not only carried the transportation of anti-Japanese supplies, but also changed hands several times and was occupied by the Japanese army. No matter what, the fact that a city can have a railway station indicates that Handan has an unshakable position in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei triangle.
