Taiyuan
People's Republic of China · Asia
About Taiyuan
Taiyuan is the capital of Shanxi, China. It is the political, economic, cultural, and international exchange center of the province, containing an industrial base focusing on energy and heavy chemicals. Throughout its long history, Taiyuan was the capital or provisional capital of many dynasties in China, hence the name Lóngchéng.
As of 2021, the city governed six districts and three counties, with a total area of 6,988 square kilometers and a permanent population of 5,390,957.
Taiyuan is located roughly in the centre of Shanxi, with the Fen River flowing through the centre of the city.
The two Chinese characters of the city's name are 太 (tài, "great") and 原 (yuán, "plain"), referring to the location where the Fen River leaves the mountains and enters a relatively flat plain. Throughout its long history, the city had various names, including Bīngzhōu (并州) (from which its abbreviated single-character name Bīng (并) is derived), Jìnyáng (晋阳), and Lóngchéng (龙城).
During the Tang and subsequent Five Dynasties, the status of the city of Taiyuan was elevated to be the northern capital, hence the names Běidū...
Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.