Why has Hebei Province in China always been an unnoticed region? During the Qing Dynasty, the same was true for the Jingji area, not because it was too far from power, but because it was too close. Land grabbing was only a surface phenomenon; the real mechanism was that the power center could not allow surrounding areas to naturally develop independent and strong local societies. The Jingji region was defined as the supply zone, security zone, and barrier zone for the capital, not as an economically autonomous development area. In modern times, the emperor has disappeared, but the imperial structure at the center and periphery has not completely vanished. Beijing continues to attract resources, and Hebei continues to bear functions. The old era’s “guarding the capital” has become the modern “servicing the capital.” In fact, modern Chinese society has not completely shed the logic of feudal dynasties but has retained deep continuity in administration, finance, spatial, and resource allocation: the closer to the power center, the easier it is to lose the agency of local development.