Famous as a coal producer in China,
Shanxi is a province processes many historic sites including Datong and Pinyao. Although the coal industry is developed well in Shanxi, the transportation is not as convenient as other tourist places in China.
In Shanxin Province one can get a glimpse of Chinese gardening, architecture, sculpture, carving and other arts. The statues of the maids of the Song Dynasty (960-1280) in Jinci Temple of Taiyaun are considered masterpieces of ancient Chinese sculptures. Pingyao Ancient Town, as one of the world heritage sites in China, expresses the unique architecture characters and the mysterious city culture of China. Datong processes the Yungang Grottoes as a famous religious site that welcomed all tourists from all over the world.
Besides the history colors in Shanxi, it is also worth considering. Shanxi cuisine focuses on saltiness, freshness and deliciousness. There are altogether 25 different cooking techniques, in which deep-frying, stir frying, roasting, braising and steaming are the most reputable. Local favorites include sweet and sour fish, hot candied yam, boiled lamb, chopped noodles, hand stretched noodles and knife carved noodles.
Provincial Capital: Taiyuan
Area: Shanxi Province has an area about 156,600 square km.
Geography: Shanxi Province is situated in the middle of the Yellow River valley, lying between latitude 34°34′-40°44′ north and longitude 110°15′-114°32′ east. Its location west of the Taihang Mountains gives the province its name, Shanxi, meaning “west of the mountain.”
The highest peak of Shanxi Province named Mount Wutai is situated in northeast side.The Great Wall of China forms most of the northern border with Inner Mongolia. The Zhongtiao Mountains run along part of the southern border and separate Shanxi from the east-west part of the Yellow River.
The Yellow River forms the western border of Shanxi with Shaanxi. The Fen and Qin rivers, tributaries of the Yellow River, run north-to-south through the province, and drain much of its area. The north of the province is drained by tributaries of the Hai River, such as Sanggan and Hutuo rivers. The largest natural lake in Shanxi is Xiechi Lake, a salt lake near Yuncheng in southwestern Shanxi.
Population: The year 2005 saw births of 402,100, or a birth rate of 12.02‰, and deaths of 200,700 or a mortality rate of 6.00‰. Shanxi Province composed of Han, Hui, Mongolian, Manchu and other nationalities. Taiyuan is the provincial capital.
Administrative Division: Shanxi is divided into eleven prefecture-level divisions, all of them prefecture-level cities.
Climate: From north to south, the climate belongs to semi-dry monsoon temperate zone, semi-wet and semi-dry monsoon warm temperate zone and moist monsoon sub-tropical zone respectively. Annual temperature and precipitation varies greatly with regions.
Shanxin Province is a highland with mountains in the east and south. Shanxi's temperature is lower than that of the same latitude in the North China Plain. It has severe winter and cool summer. The average temperature of the coldest month January is -12°C (10.4 °F) to -2°C (28.4 °F) from the north to the south and the average temperature of the hottest month July is 22°C (71.6 °F) to 27°C (80.6 °F) from the north to the south. The annual precipitation is between 350mm and 700 mm, most of which falls in summer.
