After the donkey sandwich lunch, our host took us downtown Baoding to visit the former territorial governor's quarters. Baoding's history can be traced back to 200 BC; this compound of buildings was built in the 1700s. It's not unlike any historical exhibit in the states, except you can't read any of the signs (we hired and English-speaking guide).
Baoding roughly translated means "protecting the capital". Beijing has mountains and the Great Wall to its North, but to the south, there's a gap in the mountains and wall, so there has always been an army stationed here. At one point, there were 400,000 soldiers stationed in Baoding.
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