Shanxi Province got its name due to its location to the west of Taihang Mountain. Shanxi neighbored on Hebei, Henan, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia & Autonomous Region. It is located to the east of the Yellow River, and is also known as Hedong. Shanxi belonged to Jin State in Spring and Autumn Period, so it is abbreviated in Jin. Shanxi occupies an area of 156,000 square kilometers (about 60,000 square miles) and has a population of over 32 million, including its minority ethnic population. Its capital is Taiyuan City.
1. Taiyuan
Taiyuan is the capital city of Shanxi Province. Located in the center of the province, it is also the political, economic and cultural center of Shanxi.
Taiyuan is a city bounded on three sides by mountains. It has a long history and in ancient times was an important military town. At present, Taiyuan is one of China's heavy industrial cities and account for more than half the national coal mining output.2. Pingyao
In the central area of Shanxi Province lies an ancient county typical of rural counties in North China--simple and steeped in ancient tradition. What's different is that this county is linked firmly to a certain prosperous time in Chinese history. It played quite an important role in the economic development of Shanxi during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
3. Datong
Datong is situated in northern Shanxi Province. It is bordered by Inner Mongolia to the North and Hebei Province to the east. Covering an area of 14,176 square kilometers (5473 square miles), Datong has four districts and seven counties under its prefecture. It is the second largest city in Shanxi Province with a population of 2.99 million.
4. Yangguan
Physical Features: The city is situated on the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau in the mountainous area of eastern Shanxi. The terrain of the city slopes downward from the west to the east with the mountains as its main part of the land. History: Yangquan is a time-honored city and gains its name for the five bubbling springs of former days in the downtown city. Historically, it was always a strategic point that commenced construction as a military fortress as early as in the late Warring States Period (476BC-221BC). In the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Yangquan was exalted to a prefecture. By 1905, it had a train station to facilitate the exploitation of the mines, making the city one of the birthplaces of Shanxi's modern industry.
5. Linfen
Location: Linfen City is situated in southwestern Shanxi Province, on the middle reaches of the Yellow River. It neighbors Changzhi and Jincheng in the east, Jinzhong and Lvliang in the north, Yuncheng in the south and finally, it is separated from Shaanxi Province by the Yellow River in the west. History: Known as Pingyang in the ancient time, Linfen was once the capital of China during the Jin Kingdom in the Warring States Period (476BC-221BC). During the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC), it belonged to the Hedong Shire, one of the forty-eighty shires of the nation. Many places in present Linfen had their names originated during the Sui Dynasty (581-618).
Top Cities in Shanxi Province