Jincheng

About Jincheng

Jincheng is a prefecture-level city situated in the southeast of Shanxi province, China. It shares its border with Henan province to the south and southeast. The city is recognized as an industrial hub, with coal mining being one of its key industries. The population of the entire city is estimated to be 2.2 million.

Due to the extensive coal industry in the region, Jincheng has gained notoriety for air pollution. However, the local government has recently made significant investments to address this issue. Efforts have been made to enhance the air quality in the city, such as tree planting, developing and maintaining vast parks and ecological reserves, shutting down or relocating some of the most polluting factories, and promoting the use of coalbed methane, which is a cleaner fuel source than coal.

Jincheng is one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization. Many legends in Chinese mythology have their origins in Jincheng, such as Nüwa, Jingwei, Yu Gong, Emperor Yao Emperor Shun, Shennong and so on. The Xiachuan site discovered in Xiachuan, Qinshui County in 1972 is a cultural relic from the late Paleolithic Age, proving that humans lived and thrived here more than 20,000 years ago; the Tashui site discovered in Duohuo Township, Lingchuan County in 1986 The He site belongs to the cave life site of ancient humans in the Paleolithic Age. It has been identified by archaeological experts as being about 100,000 to 70,000 years old.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.