Shijiazhuang, abbreviated as “Shi”, is the capital of North China’s Hebei Province, the province’s political, economic, scientific and technological, financial, cultural and information center. Shijiazhuang is located in south-central Hebei, and is part of the Bohai Economic Rim. Bordering prefecture-level cities in Hebei are Hengshui (E), Xingtai (S), and Baoding (N/NE). To the west lies the province of Shanxi. The city stands at the edge of the North China Plain, which rises to the Taihang Mountains to the west of the city, and lies south of the Hutuo River. From west to east, the topography can be summarized as moderately high mountains, then low-lying mountains, hills, basin, and finally plains. Administratively a prefecture-level city, Shijiazhuang administers eight districts, two county-level cities, and 11 counties.