City Introduction

Taiyuan is also known as Bingzhou, historically called Jinyang, and nicknamed “Dragon City”. Taiyuan is the capital of Shanxi Province. It lies on the Fen River, surrounded by mountains in three sides. It is an ancient capital with the history of over 2500 years. The poem goes “Surrounded by water and mountains, it is the main part of the country”, “As a major crossroad leading to four fortresses, it controls the cities of five plains.” It is the capital of Shanxi Province, and also the political, economic and cultural center. Taiyuan is a famous military and important cultural place in Northern China, a world famous capital of Shanxi merchants, and also one of the most important resource and heavy industrial bases in China.

 

 

 

 

History and Culture

Taiyuan is an ancient civilization city in Northern China, which has a long history. People have lived and propagated here as early as one hundred thousand years ago. In 541 BC, Taiyuan area joined the territory of the Kingdom Jin. Over six hundred years of the Kingdom Jin reign laid a solid foundation for the history and culture of Shanxi. Today, we can learn its glorious history from the exhibits of hegemony of Jin in the Shanxi Museum. In 376 BC, Jin was split into three states, i.e., Han, Zhao and Wei, among which, Zhao made here the capital, and called Jinyang, and the name of Jinyang just originates here. In the Han Dynasty, Bingzhou Federal Province set Jinyang, and thus, today’s Taiyuan is also called Bingzhou. The reason of Taiyuan’s nickname of Dragon City is that lots of princes and noble people came from Taiyuan or once secure official positions in Taiyuan before they became emperors, including Li Yuan, Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of Tang, and the famous Empress Wu Zetian. Zhang Guangyi, Emperor Taizong of Song, feared the reputation of Dragon City, and ordered to burn it. Whether or not Emperor Taizong once ordered to burn the foundation of the Tang Dynasty, you cannot miss the Jinci Temple in today’s Taiyuan, the soul of Dragon City.

 

 

 

 

Natural Environment

Taiyuan is centrally located in Shanxi Province, north of Taiyuan basin, and in the middle of Yellow River basin of North China; it is surrounded by mountains in the west, north and east, with valley plain in the middle and south; the whole city is higher in north and lower in south, presenting a dustpan shape. It is a junction of the north-south Datong-Puzhou railway line and Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan Railway Line. Its highest elevation is 2,670m while the lowest is 760m, with the average elevation of about 800m; coordinate: 111°30′-113°09′N, 37°27′-38°25′E. The regional outline shows a batwing shape, with the east-west span of about 144 kilometers, and south-north span of about 107 kilometers.

 

 

 

 

Climate Change

Taiyuan experiences a temperate monsoon climate, without severe cold in winter and intense heat in summer; it is considerable in diurnal temperature difference, long in frost-free season and abundant in sunshine. The annual average precipitation is 456 mm, and the annual average temperature is 9.5℃; January is the coldest, with the average temperature of 6.8℃, while July is the hottest, with the average temperature of 23.5℃. The annual sunshine duration reaches 2,808 hours. Taiyuan is located in the continent interior, which is far away from the eastern coastline, and its northwest is the wide Eurasia hinterland. In the climatic regionalization of the country, it belongs to warm temperate continental monsoon climate. The climate type formed is mainly impacted by solar radiation, general atmospheric circulation and geographical conditions. As Taiyuan is located in the northern middle latitude and impacted by Shanxi plateau, it can receive strong solar radiation, and its solar heat is abundant, which belongs to the high radiation rate range in the classification of agricultural solar energy use. Meanwhile, controlled by westerly circulation and impacted by higher solar radiation, its climate is dry with less precipitation and considerable diurnal temperature difference, which make it show distinct characteristics of continental climate.

 

 

 

 

Tourism Service Number

Address of Taiyuan Tourist Administration: 1st Floor, No.3 Municipal Government Building, No.69, North Xinjian Road, Xinghualing District, Taiyuan City. Tel: 0351-4222922；0351-4222935

120 South Station of Taiyuan Emergency Medical Rescue Center: Address: No.190, South Jianshe Road, Xiaodian District. Tel: 120；0351-7041706

Taiyuan Tourism Law Enforcement and Supervision Brigade: Address: Provincial Agricultural Machinery Hostel, No.59, Xinjian Road, Yingze District. Tel: 0351-5679101；0351-4070551

 

 

 

 

Notes

The sunlight and wind is strong in the spring of Taiyuan. As the area is rich in coal, the wind is often mixed with black sand. Sunglasses and cap are necessary if you travel here in spring and summer. Visitors wearing contact lenses should be careful.

 

 

 

 

Festivals(Important/Historical/Folks Ones)

Taiyuan International Folklore Festival

Time: in September of each year

Taiyuan International Folklore Festival was founded in 1991, which is held in September of each year later. During the festival, folk art groups from all over the county and Russia, Japan, Singapore, etc. will gather in the ancient Taiyuan City to provide splendid artistic performance and foreign folklore dances. Cultural exhibitions such as art exhibition, painting, Chinese paper cutting, sculpture, acrobatics, magic, costume, etc. would also be held. Meanwhile, “Shanxi International Gong and Drum Festival” and “Shanxi Friendly Foreign Exchange Week” will also be held.

Jinci Temple Fair

Time: The second day of the seventh lunar month

Jinci Temple Fair, historically called “Saishen Fair”, was set for the celebration of the birthday of Goddess Yijiang. During the fair, several Jin Operas will be performed, and traditional folklore Shehuo performance, such as beigun (with a iron bar on back to support one person) dragon lantern, land boat, etc. will be held. People around miles away gather here, burn incense and worship the gods, to pray for rain, good harvest and a peaceful and happy year. At that time, there will be country fair trade activities, in which, there are lots of traditional folklore snacks, handiwork, toys, vaudeville, which are very bustling.