Yongnian District in Handan and Shahe City in Xingtai have largely formed into a single conurbation.

Throughout the city's long history, it contributed significantly to Chinese culture, serving as the capital of State of Zhao, was northern China's political, economic and cultural center, and home to Tai chi and the first compass, made from stones collected in the nearby Mount Ci (magnet mountain).

This explanation has been widely accepted until the discoveries of jade writings in Houma, Shanxi in 1965, where the "Dan" in Handan was spelt "丹", meaning red.

[8] According to the Bamboo Annals, during the late Shang dynasty, the kings constructed palaces in the Handan area, with a time span of 3,050 to 3,100 years ago.

In 386 BCE, Marquess Jing of Zhao officially relocated the capital to Handan and initiated large-scale construction.

At the beginning of the Han dynasty, Handan was Liu Bang's base for suppressing Chen Xi's rebellion in 197 and 196 BCE.

By the late Western Han period, Handan remained one of the five major cities in the country, covering an urban area of 13.6 square kilometers with a population of over 150,000.

By the late Eastern Han period, Yuan Shao seized control of Hebei and established Ye, which gradually replaced Handan and rose to prominence.

The construction of the Wei capital was renowned for its symmetrical design along a central axis, and iconic structures such as the Bronze Bird Terrace.

In the late Western Jin period, northern China fell into chaos during the Upheaval of the Five Barbarians, and Handan was occupied by various non-Han ethnic groups, such as the Xianbei and Jie people, leaving the city in ruins.

During the late Sui dynasty, Handan became the center of activities for Dou Jiande's rebel army in Hebei.

Dou Jiande established Guangfu, which is in current Yongnian, Handan, as the capital of the short-lived Xia regime.

In the Handan region, locals joined Wang Yan’s "Bazijun" guerrilla force in the Taihang Mountains, resisting the Jin for decades until the southern campaign of Wanyan Liang.

However, in the later Yuan period, the area suffered from frequent flooding and locust plagues, leaving the population in hardship.

Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang implemented a resettlement policy, relocating impoverished families from Shanxi to Daming and Guangping, revitalizing the region after its decline during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

In the late Ming period, influenced by Li Zicheng, the people of Handan staged uprisings.

In 1644, after the Qing army crossed the Great Wall and entered the Central Plains, local resistance, led by Zhang Zhibang, fought against the invaders but was brutally suppressed.

Following Japan’s defeat in 1945, Handan was designated a city and served as the seat of the Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu (晋冀鲁豫) Border Region Government.

In October 1945, during the Chongqing Negotiations, the National Revolutionary Army advanced north along the railway, passing through Communist-controlled areas.

By November, the Communist forces achieved a decisive victory, consolidating the North China Liberated Zone into a unified territory.

In 1946, the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Bureau of the Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu region planned to launch a major official newspaper in Handan.

Though much of Handan's ancient history is no longer visible, it still has some attractions, deriving from the many Chinese idioms that the city inspired,[9] such as the road into which Lin Xiangru, courier of the precious Heshibi, backed in order to let his nemesis Lian Po pass first, as well as the location in which Lian Po begged for Lin Xiangru's forgiveness.

[10] The nearby Xiangtangshan Caves contain massive Buddha statues carved into the mountainside, some dating to the 6th century, many of which were severely damaged by invading Japanese forces during World War II.

The municipal executive, legislative and judiciary are situated in Congtai District (丛台区, Cóngtái Qū), as well as the CPC and Public Security bureaux.

Handan has a monsoon-influenced humid continental climate/semi-arid climate (Köppen Dwa/BSk), with strong monsoonal influence, typical of the North China Plain.

[19] However the government has made a significant effort to make the city cleaner, which involved closing down many polluting power plants.

[20] Handan Prefecture is home to the AAAAA tourist attractions Guangfu Ancient City and the Nüwa Imperial Palace.

5The claimed province of Taiwan no longer have any internal division announced by Ministry of Civil Affairs of PRC, due to lack of actual jurisdiction.