Handan boasts a civilization spanning over 8,000 years and a city history spanning over 3,100 years. It is the world's earliest origin of millet and sorghum, and the earliest place where chicken and walnuts were discovered in China. "Handan," as the city's unique name, has remained unchanged for over 3,100 years. During the Warring States Period, it served as the capital of the State of Zhao for 158 years and was the birthplace and upbringing of Qin Shihuang. During the Western Han Dynasty, Handan was a national commercial center, sharing the title of "Five Capitals" along with Luoyang, Linzi, Chengdu, and Wancheng. During the Three Kingdoms, Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties, Yecheng (now in Linzhang County) to the south of Handan served as the capital of six dynasties: Cao Wei, Later Zhao, Ran Wei, Former Yan, Eastern Wei, and Northern Qi. During the Five Dynasties period, Daming (now Daming County) to the east of Handan initially served as the capital of the Later Tang Dynasty, and later as a secondary capital during the Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, Later Zhou, and Northern Song dynasties. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, it served as the headquarters of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army and the seat of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Border Region Government. With 1,584 idioms and allusions originating from or related to Handan, Handan is known as the "City of Chinese Idioms and Allusions."
Handan is a National Historical and Cultural City, a National Civilized City, an Excellent Tourist City in China, a National Garden City, a National Forest City, a National Model City for Greening, a National City for Comprehensive Social Security Management, a National Model City for Supporting the People's Armed Forces and Supporting the People, and a National Water-Saving City.