Taiyuan[lower-alpha 1] is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province,China.[7] Taiyuan is the political,economic,cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. It is 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 (龙城;Dragon City).[8]
As of 2021,the city will govern 6 districts,3 counties,and host a county-level city with a total area of 6,988 square kilometers and a permanent population of 5,390,957.[1]
Taiyuan is located roughly in the centre of Shanxi,with the Fen River flowing through the central city.[9]
Taiyuan belongs to the warm temperate continental monsoon climate,with long,dry and cold winters,hot and humid summers,short and windy spring and autumn,and distinct dry and wet seasons.[10]
Etymology and names
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 the city's abbreviated single-character name Bīng (并) is derived),Jìnyáng (晋阳) and Lóngchéng (龙城).[11]
During the Tang dynasty and subsequent Five Dynasties,the status of the city of Taiyuan was elevated to be the Northern Capital,hence the name Běidū (北都),and Běijīng (北京,different from present-day Beijing).[12]
In 497 BC,the first ancient city of Jinyang was built around the southern Jinyuan District of present-day Taiyuan,by Dong Anyu (董安于),who was a steward of Zhao Jianzi[zh] (赵鞅),an upper-level official of the state of Jin.[8][14]
During the Battle of Jinyang in 453 BC,Zhi Yao diverted the flow of the Fen River to inundate the city of Jinyang,caused significant damage to the Zhao. Later,Zhao Xiangzi alerted Wei and Han,who both decided to ally with Zhao. On the night of 8 May 453 BC,Zhao troops broke the dams of the Fen River and let the river flood the Zhi armies,and eventually annihilated the Zhi army,with the help from Wei and Han.[15]
The Tripartition of Jin happened in 403 BC,when the state of Jin,then a strong power in Northern China,was divided into three smaller states of Han,Zhao and Wei. This event is the watershed between the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods in Chinese history. Jinyang,was chosen as the capital of Zhao,by Zhao Ji. Later,the capital of Zhao was moved to Handan in modern Hebei. [citation needed]
Qin dynasty
In 248 BC,the state of Qin attacked Zhao under General Meng'ao,and obtained the area around Jinyang from Zhao. Qin set up the Commandery of Taiyuan (太原郡),with the city of Jinyang as its administrative center. Although,the name Taiyuan had appeared in historic records before,potentially referring to different regions in nowadays southern and central Shanxi,this was the first time Taiyuan was officially used to refer to present-day Taiyuan.[13]
In 246 BC,there was an uprising in Jinyang,and it was quickly quelled by Meng'ao. [citation needed]
Between 229 and 228 BC,Qin General Li Xin lead two armies that marched from the cities of Taiyuan and Yunzhong to attack Zhao's northern commandery of Dai. Three months after General Li Mu’s death;Wang Jian,Li Xin &Qiang Lei conquered Zhao.
In 221 BC,Qin conquered the rest of China,and officially started the first imperial dynasty of China. Qin established thirty-six commanderies on its territory,and Taiyuan was one of them. Also,the capital of commandery of Taiyuan was Jinyang.[16]
Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms
In 206 BC,Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang established the Han dynasty. During that period,the Qin administrative system of commanderies was abolished,the two Commanderies of Taiyuan and Yanmen were combined as the vassal state of Han (韩国) under the rule of King Xin of Han (韩王信). [citation needed]
Later,King Xin of Han moved the capital from Jinyang to Mayi (present-day Shuozhou) with the approval from the emperor Gaozu. However,King Xin of Han conspired with the Xiongnu against Gaozu,and attacked Han for many years. In 196 BC,King Xin of Han was killed after he lost a battle. And the vassal state of Han was replaced by the vassal state of Dai,with Jinyang as the administrative center of Dai.[citation needed]
Fu Jian died in 384. His son Fu Pi declared himself an emperor in 385,with Jinyang (central city of Taiyuan) as the capital. But the next year,Fu Pi was defeated by the Western Yan prince Murong Yong in 386,and Taiyuan became part of Western Yan. In 394,Taiyuan was conquered by Later Yan army. [citation needed]
Southern and Northern Dynasties
A sitting bodhisattva statue originally from Tianlongshan Grottoes,currently in Museum Rietberg,Zürich
In 543,Eastern Wei was founded by Gao Huan,with the capital at the city of Ye,and Taiyuan as the alternative capital (别都),where the Mansion of the "Great Chancellor" Gao Huan (大丞相府) was located.
In 550,Northern Qi was founded by Gao Yang,who maintained his father Gao Huan's choice of Taiyuan as the alternative capital. The Buddhist Tianlongshan Grottoes of Taiyuan started during this period,and continued for many centuries afterwards. [citation needed]
In 577,Taiyuan was conquered and became part of Northern Zhou.
Sui dynasty
Main battles involved for the establishment of the Tang dynasty originated from Taiyuan.
In 581,Emperor Wen of Sui founded Sui dynasty. Jinyang was first the administrative center of Bing Zhou (并州),which was changed into Taiyuan Commandery. In 617,Li Yuan rose in rebellion based in Taiyuan,and expanded quickly.
Tang dynasty
In 618,Li Yuan founded Tang dynasty,which is generally considered a golden age of Chinese civilization. Taiyuan expanded significantly during the Tang dynasty,partly because Taiyuan was the military base of the founding emperors Li Yuan and Li Shimin. As Li Shimin wrote in 619:"Taiyuan,the base of the imperial regime and the foundation of the state." (太原，王业所基，国之根本)[17]
In 690,Wu Zetian set Taiyuan as the Northern Capital,(北都;Běidū),one of the three capitals,along with Chang'an and Luoyang,as depicted in the poem by Li Bai:"The king of the heaven has three capitals,the Northern capital is one of them." ("天王三京，北都居一").[12] In 742 AD,Emperor Xuanzong of Tang changed its name further to Beijing (北京). During the Tang dynasty,the title Northern Capital to Taiyuan had been endowed or abolished multiple times.[16]
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
In 923,Li Cunxu,son of Li Keyong,founded Later Tang with capital of Daming,and soon conquered most of North China,and ended Later Liang. Afterwards,Li Cunxu moved the capital from Daming to Luoyang,and Taiyuan was set as a provisional capital,titled "Beidu" (北都,literally 'Northern Capital').[18]
The hall of the holy mother in Jinci,constructed from 1023 to 1032 during the Song dynasty
Zhao Kuangyin (Emperor Taizu of Song) established the Song dynasty and embarked on the campaign of re-unification of China. Using a power struggle at the Northern Han court Taizu moved against it in the late 968.[19] By early 969 his armies encircled Taiyuan and defeated the reinforcements sent by the Khitan. However,an attempt to flood the city failed. The siege was lifted after three months,as heavy rains caused diseases in the besieging army,the supplies were running low,and another Khitan relief force was advancing towards the city.[19]
Taizu launched the second invasion of Northern Han in September 969,but the armies were recalled after his death (November 14,969).[19]
Taizu's brother Taizong subjugated the last independent kingdoms in the south of China by 978,and in 979 launched the third campaign against the Northern Han and its overlord the Khitan state of Liao. Using the north-western route instead of the southern (used in the previous campaigns) the armies of Taizong defeated a major Liao force. Isolated,the Northern Han resisted for only fifteen days before surrendering. In contrast to the mild policies of his brother,Taizong dealt harshly with the city. He ordered the flooding of Taiyuan by releasing the Fen River,and set the city on fire.[19] The former capital was downgraded from prefecture to county town status.
It was not until 982 that a new city was founded on the banks of the Fen River. The oldest existing building in Taiyuan today is the Temple of the Goddess (simplified Chinese:圣母殿;traditional Chinese:聖母殿) inside the Jin Ci Complex. It was originally built in 1023 and reconstructed in 1102.
From 1027 one of the two private markets for Tangut goods,particularly salt,operated in Taiyuan.[20] During the Song period many people,including the family of chancellor Wang Anshi,migrated south.[21]
Jin dynasty
The Jurchen Jin dynasty was founded in 1115,and in 1125,Taiyuan was conquered by Jin.
Yuan dynasty
The Mongol empire emerged in 1206 under the leadership of Genghis Khan,and it expanded quickly. In 1218,Taiyuan was conquered by the Mongol army led by General Muqali. Kublai Khan established the Yuan dynasty in 1271,and the administrative area of Taiyuan Lu (太原路) was expanded.
The Taoist Longshan Grottoes was built in early Yuan dynasty,initiated by Taoist monk Song Defang (宋德芳).
The Ming dynasty installed Nine Military Garrisons to defend the northern territory during the reign of the Hongzhi Emperor,which included the Garrison of Taiyuan (太原镇).
Shanxi merchants became prominent in Chinese business history since the beginning of Ming dynasty,thanks to the logistic requirements of the military around the borders of northern Shanxi to defend Ming against the remnant Mongol Northern Yuan dynasty.
In the ending period of Ming dynasty,the rebel leader Li Zicheng conquered Taiyuan,and Taiyuan became part of Great Shun temporarily in 1644. [citation needed]
Qing dynasty
In 1644,Shunzhi founded the Qing dynasty and defeated the Great Shun Army in Taiyuan in the same year.
Throughout the Qing dynasty,the international trade with Russia,especially of tea,and the creation and development of so-called draft banks,or Piaohao,boosted the central Shanxi basin to become the financial center of Qing China. Even though most of these Piaohao were based in different neighboring counties of Qi County,Taigu,and Yuci,Taiyuan became a significant trading center,due to its political and economical status in Shanxi.[22][23]
In 1900,the Taiyuan Massacre occurred,during which a number of Western missionaries were killed.[24]
Taiyuan Cathedral,photographed by Edouard Chavannes in 1907
Republic of China
The warlord Yan Xishan retained control of Shanxi from the Xinhai Revolution in 1911 to the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Taiyuan consequently flourished as the center of his comparatively progressive province and experienced extensive industrial development. It was linked by rail both to the far southwest of Shanxi and to Datong in the north. Until the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949,Yan's arsenal in Taiyuan was the only factory in China sufficiently advanced to produce field artillery. Because Yan succeeded in keeping Shanxi uninvolved in most of the major battles between rival warlords that occurred in China during the 1910s and 1920s,Taiyuan was never taken from Yan by an invading army until the Japanese conquered it in 1937.[25]
Chinese soldiers and civilians celebrating the victory at Pingxingguan in 1937
Yan was aware of the threat posed by the Japanese;and,in order to defend against the impending Japanese invasion of Shanxi,Yan entered into a secret "united front" agreement with the Communists in November 1936. After concluding his alliance with the Communists,he allowed agents under Zhou Enlai to establish a secret headquarters in Taiyuan.[26] Yan,under the slogan "resistance against the enemy and defense of the soil",attempted to recruit young patriotic intellectuals to his government from across China. By 1936 Taiyuan became a gathering point for anti-Japanese intellectuals who had fled from Beijing,Tianjin,and Northeast China.[27] A representative of the Japanese army,speaking of the final defense of Taiyuan,said that "nowhere in China have the Chinese fought so obstinately".[28]
From the Japanese occupation of Taiyuan to the Japanese surrender in 1945,the Japanese continued to exploit Taiyuan's industries and resources to supply the Japanese army. After the Japanese army in Shanxi surrendered to Yan Xishan,10,000–15,000 Japanese troops,including both enlisted men and officers,decided to fight for Yan rather than return to Japan. Yan also retained the services of experienced and foreign-educated Japanese technicians and professional staff brought into Taiyuan by the Japanese to run the complex of industries that they had developed around Taiyuan.[29]
Taiyuan Campaign
Taiyuan was the last area in Shanxi to resist Communist control during the final stages of the Chinese Civil War. The city was taken by the Communists on 22 April 1949,after they surrounded Taiyuan and cut it off from all means of land and air supply,and taking the city required the support of 1,300 pieces of artillery.[30] Many Nationalist officers committed suicide when the city fell to a Communist army.[31]
Geography
Satellite image of Taiyuan
Taiyuan lies on the Fen River in the north of its fertile upper basin. The city is located at the center of the province with an east–west span of 144km (89mi) and a north–south span of 107km (66mi).[6][32] It commands the north–south route through the province,as well as important natural lines of transportation through the Taihang Mountains to Hebei in the east and to northern Shaanxi in the west.
Taiyuan experiences a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classificationBSk). Taiyuan has a temperate monsoon climate. Spring is dry,with occasional dust storms,followed by early summer heat waves. Summer tends to be warm to hot with most of the year's rainfall concentrated in July and August. Winter is long and cold,but dry and sunny. Because of the aridity,there tends to be considerable diurnal variation in temperature,except during the summer. The weather is much cooler than comparable-latitude cities,such as Shijiazhuang,due to the moderately high altitude. The monthly 24-hour average temperature range from −4.7°C (23.5°F) in January to 24.3°C (75.7°F) in July,while the annual mean is 10.9°C (51.6°F). With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 51percent in July to 61percent in May,there are 2,493 hours of sunshine annually.
The municipality of Taiyuan is 6,988km2 (2,698sqmi). Taiyuan has a forest area of 146,700 hectares. and total grassland area of 422.5km2 (163.1sqmi) in 2007.[38] The forest area coverage rate in the six urban districts has been increased to 21.69% in 2015.[39]
Air pollution
Taiyuan had suffered from severe air pollution,especially in the 1990s,and the first decade of the 21st century,[40] and once it was even listed among the ten most air-polluted cities in the world.[41] Recently,the air quality has been gradually improved with increasing public awareness of air quality control and stricter and more detailed rules for pollution applied. However,according to the 2014 statistical book issued by the National Bureau of Statistics,even though no longer among the worst polluted cities in China,Taiyuan still has below-average ambient air quality,compared with other major Chinese cities.[42] A 2019 study estimated that in 2016,there were 228,000 households in the city burning coal,burning a total of 1,096,000 tons that year alone.[43] The authors of the study suggested that the local government should do more to transition from coal energy to gas energy,provide more electrical heating infrastructure,and transition to more renewable energy sources.[43] In recent years,the city has taken further action to combat air pollution,creating a "coal-free zone" of 1,460km2 in 2017.[44] This zone prevents most people and organizations from buying,selling,storing,transporting,burning,or using coal.[44] In 2019,the Taiyuan City Government expanded the size of this zone slightly,to a total of 1,574km2.[44]
As of the 2020 census,Taiyuan prefecture had a total population of 5,304,061 inhabitants on 6,959km2 (2,687sqmi),from whom 4,529,141 lived in the 6 urban districts on 1,460km2 (560sqmi).[45]
Economy
Taiyuan Riverside Sports Arena
Consistent with China's economic expansion throughout the 2010s,Taiyuan's economy has shown consistent growth in recent years. In 2018,Taiyuan's GDP was worth 388.450 billion Yuan,more than double what it was in 2010.[46] Disposable income per capita was reported to be 31,031 Yuan in 2018,a 7.2% increase from 2017.[47] In 2015,Taiyuan imported 4,085.130 million USD worth of goods,[48] and exported 6,592.250 million USD worth.[49] Taiyuan's primary,secondary,and tertiary industries were worth 3.9billion yuan,105.2billion yuan,and 132.2billion yuan respectively in 2007.[50] Shanxi produces a quarter of China's coal,and Taiyuan is the location of the China Taiyuan Coal Transaction Center,which began trading in 2012.[51]
Transportation
Taiyuan is one of the transportation hubs in North China,with highways linking neighboring provincial capitals,and airlines to most other major Chinese cities and some international cities.
Public transportation
A 1 route bus at Taiyuan
The Taiyuan Metro is still under construction. Line 1 is set to open in 2024,while Line 2 has been operating since 26 December 2020. [citation needed]
In early 2016 the city began the conversion of all its 8000 taxi fleet into purely electric vehicles,initially using BYD Auto model E6.[52][53]
Air
Taiyuan Airport
The primary airport of the city is Taiyuan Wusu International Airport. It has been expanded for the landing of Airbus A380. The airport has domestic airlines to major cities including Beijing,Shanghai,and coastal cities such as Dalian.[54] International flights to Taipei and Da Nang are available.[55][56]
A 45-kilometer Middle Ring Highway circles the metropolis of Taiyuan.
Two highways on the banks of Fen River run through the center of the city.
Nine Riverside highways along the nine branches of Fen River,including the Southern Shahe river,Northern Shahe river,etc.,comprise an expressway system,connecting the central Fen River bank with surrounding areas of urban Taiyuan.
The southern part of Taiyuan has three "East-West" direction highways:South Middle Ring Street,Huazhang Street and Yingbin Road,and five "North-South" direction highways:West Middle Ring Road,Binhe West Road,Binhe East Road,Dayun Road,Jianshe Road &Taiyu Road.
The western S56 Taiyuan-Gujiao Highway links Taiyuan with the western satellite city of Gujiao,and further connects Loufan.
The northern Yangxing Highway connects downtown Taiyuan with the northern suburb of Yangqu County.
Tomato egg noodles (Chinese:西红柿炒鸡蛋面;pinyin:xīhóngshìchǎo jīdàn miàn;lit.'noodles with tomato and scrambled eggs')
Tijian (剔尖;tījiān;'scraped noodles')
Dao Xiao noodles (刀削面;dāo xiāo miàn)
Tounao (头脑;tóu nǎo;'brain-enhancing soup'):Contains mutton,rice wine and vegetables in the soup. This dish was first created by Chinese polymath Fu Shan,who was proficient in medicine,for his old and illness-ridden mother as a food substitute for the ancient medicine Bazhen Tang (literally "Soup of Eight Treasures") using only locally available food materials that have similar effects as the original medicine.[58]
Changfeng (长风) footbridge on Fen River and Shanxi TheaterShanxi Folklore Museum courtyard with old Confucian templeThe twin towers inside the Yongzuo Temple.Jinci Temple
Taiyuan is a modern city with just a few historic buildings remaining in the centre. The remnants of old Taiyuan can be found west of the central station,north of Fudong Street and close to Wuyi Road.
One of the main tourist destinations is Shanxi Museum located in West Binhe Road,downtown Taiyuan,which is among the largest museums in China.
The Twin Towers in Yongzuo Temple,which are featured in the emblem of the city,have been regarded as a symbol of Taiyuan for a long time. Yongzuo Temple is at southeast of the city centre,also famous for its peony garden and martyrs cemetery.
The Chongshan Monastery,Longtan Park,and Yingze Park (just off Yingze Street),in the city centre,are popular tourist destinations.[59]
Jinci Temple also called Tangshuyu Temple,located in Jinyuan District of southern Taiyuan,dates back to the Zhou dynasty. In Jinci,there are three treasures:the Nanlao Spring,the Beauty Status and the Queen status. The Flying Bridge Across the Fish Pond was built during the Song dynasty,which is famous for its cross-shaped structure.[60]
Along the West Mountain range in western Taiyuan,tourists can find Tianlongshan Grottoes,which were gradually built over many centuries,from the northern Qi dynasty,and contains thousands of Buddhist statues and artwork. The grottoes exist today in a damaged state with many of the sculptures now missing,that visitors to the caves cannot imagine how they looked in the past. Many of the sculptures from the caves are now in museums around the world. However,though the sculptures may be preserved and displayed,visitors to museums cannot understand them in their original historical,spatial,and religious contexts. Researchers at the University of Chicago initiated the Tianlongshan Caves Project in 2013 to pursue research and digital imaging of the caves and their sculptures.[61]
Not far from the Tianlongshan Grottoes are the Longshan Grottoes,which is the only Taoist grottoes site in China. The main eight grottoes were carved in 1234~1239 during the Yuan dynasty.
Shanxi is a landlocked province of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi and Datong. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋", after the state of Jin that existed there during the Spring and Autumn period.
This is a list of historical capitals of China.
Zhao was one of the seven major states during the Warring States period of ancient China. It emerged from the tripartite division of Jin, along with Han and Wei, in the 5th century BC. Zhao gained considerable strength from the military reforms initiated during the reign of King Wuling, but suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Qin at the Battle of Changping. Its territory included areas in the modern provinces of Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shanxi and Shaanxi. It bordered the states of Qin, Wei, and Yan, as well as various nomadic peoples including the Hu and Xiongnu. Its capital was Handan, in modern Hebei province.
Jin, originally known as Tang (唐), was a major state during the middle part of the Zhou dynasty, based near the centre of what was then China, on the lands attributed to the legendary Xia dynasty: the southern part of modern Shanxi. Although it grew in power during the Spring and Autumn period, its aristocratic structure saw it break apart when the duke lost power to his nobles. In 403BC, the Zhou court recognized Jin's three successor states: Han, Zhao, and Wei. The Partition of Jin marks the end of the Spring and Autumn Period and the beginning of the Warring States period.
The Qin officially the Great Qin, was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. It is traditionally dated to 897 BC. The Qin state originated from a reconquest of western lands that had previously been lost to the Xirong. Its location at the western edge of Chinese civilisation allowed for expansion and development that was not available to its rivals in the North China Plain.
Zhangjiakou, also known as Kalgan and by several other names, is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hebei province in Northern China, bordering Beijing to the southeast, Inner Mongolia to the north and west, and Shanxi to the southwest. By 2019, its population was 4,650,000 inhabitants on 36,861.56 square kilometres (14,232.33 sq mi), divided into 17 Counties and Districts. The built-up area made of Qiaoxi, Qiaodong, Chongli, Xuanhua, Xiahuayuan Districts largely being conurbated had 1,500,000 inhabitants in 2019 on 1,412.7 km2 (545.4 sq mi).
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.
You Prefecture or YouProvince, also known by its Chinese name Youzhou, was a prefecture (zhou) in northern China during its imperial era.
Xin, King of Hán, also known as Hán Xin and as Hán Wang Xin, was a descendant of the royal family of the state of Hán during the Warring States period of China. After the establishment of the Han dynasty, Emperor Gaozu granted Hán Xin the title of "King of Hán" (韓王). In 201 BC, Hán Xin was suspected of conspiring with the Xiongnu to attack the Han Empire and decided to defect to the Xiongnu. He was killed in action during a battle against the Han army in 196 BC.
Dai County, also known by its Chinese name Daixian, is a county in Xinzhou, Shanxi Province, China. Its county seat at Shangguan is also known as Daixian. The county has an area of 1,729 km2 (668 sq mi) and had a population of 178,870 at the time of the 2020 census. The county is the home of the AAAAA-rated Yanmen Pass Scenic Area along the Great Wall, as well as the Bianjing Drum Tower, the Ayuwang Pagoda, and the Zhao Gao Forest Park.
Gujiao is a county-level city of Shanxi Province, North China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Taiyuan. The estimated population of Gujiao in 2017 is about 222,000.
Qin's wars of unification were a series of military campaigns launched in the late 3rd century BC by the state of Qin against the other six powers remaining in China — Han, Zhao, Yan, Wei, Chu and Qi. Between 247 and 221 BC, Qin had developed into one of the most powerful of China's Seven Warring States that coalesced in the wake of the Zhou dynasty's decline, by now retaining a weak and merely ceremonial position among the warring states. In 230 BC, King Ying Zheng of Qin began the sequence of campaigns that would bring the Warring States period to a close, setting out to conquer each remaining sovereign one by one. This was completed in 221 BC with the fall of Qi, leaving the former Zhou sphere unified under a more centralized Qin control. Ying Zheng declared himself the First Emperor, or Qin Shi Huang—becoming the first sovereign over a unified China under the imperial Qin dynasty,.
The Sixteen Kingdoms, less commonly the Sixteen States, was a chaotic period in Chinese history from AD 304 to 439 when northern China fragmented into a series of short-lived dynastic states. The majority of these states were founded by the "Five Barbarians", non-Han peoples who had settled in northern and western China during the preceding centuries, and had launched a series of rebellions against the Western Jin dynasty in the early 4th century. However, several of the states were founded by the Han people, and all of the states—whether ruled by Xiongnu, Xianbei, Di, Jie, Qiang, Han, or others—took on Han-style dynastic names. The states frequently fought against both one another and the Eastern Jin dynasty, which succeeded the Western Jin in 317 and ruled southern China. The period ended with the unification of northern China in 439 by the Northern Wei, a dynasty established by the Xianbei Tuoba clan. This occurred 19 years after the Eastern Jin collapsed in 420, and was replaced by the Liu Song dynasty. Following the unification of the north by Northern Wei, the Northern and Southern dynasties era of Chinese history began.
Bingzhou, or Bing Province, was a location in ancient China. According to legend, when Yu the Great tamed the flood, he divided the land of China into the Nine Provinces. Historical texts such as the Rites of Zhou, and "Treatise on Geography" section of the Book of Han, recorded that Bingzhou was one of the Nine Provinces. Bingzhou covered roughly the areas around present-day Baoding, Hebei, and Taiyuan and Datong in Shanxi.
Ji or Jicheng was an ancient city in northern China, which has become the longest continuously inhabited section of modern Beijing. Historical mention of Ji dates to the founding of the Zhou dynasty in about 1045BC. Archaeological finds in southwestern Beijing where Ji was believed to be located date to the Spring and Autumn period. The city of Ji served as the capital of the ancient states of Ji and Yan until the unification of China by the Qin dynasty in 221BC. Thereafter, the city was a prefectural capital for Youzhou through the Han dynasty, Three Kingdoms, Western Jin dynasty, Sixteen Kingdoms, Northern Dynasties, and Sui dynasty. With the creation of a Jizhou (蓟州) during the Tang dynasty in what is now Tianjin Municipality, the city of Ji took on the name Youzhou. Youzhou was one of the Sixteen Prefectures ceded to the Khitans during the Five Dynasties. The city then became the southern capital of the Liao dynasty and then main capital of the Jin dynasty (1115–1234). In the 13th century, Kublai Khan built a new capital city for the Yuan dynasty adjacent to Ji to the north. The old city of Ji became a suburb to Dadu. In the Ming dynasty, the old and new cities were merged by Beijing's Ming-era city wall.
The Taiyuan Metro is a rapid transit system in Taiyuan, capital of China's Shanxi province. The system opened on December 26, 2020.
Taiyuan Commandery was a commandery of China from the Warring States period to Tang dynasty. It was located in modern central Shanxi province.
In 2001, the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences organized a poll for China's 100 major archaeological discoveries in the 20th century. The participants included eight national-level institutions for archaeology and cultural relics, provincial-level archaeological institutes from 28 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions, as well as from Hong Kong, the archaeological departments of 11 major national universities, and many other scholars in Beijing. After three months and three rounds of voting, the results were announced on 29 March 2001 and were published in the journal Kaogu (Archaeology). In 2002, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Press published the book China's 100 Major Archaeological Discoveries in the 20th Century (二十世纪中国百项考古大发现), with more than 500 pages and 1,512 pictures.
Dai Commandery was a commandery (jùn) of the state of Zhao established c. 300BC and of northern imperial Chinese dynasties until the time of the Emperor Wen of the Sui dynasty. It occupied lands in what is now Hebei, Shanxi, and Inner Mongolia. Its seat was usually at Dai or Daixian, although it was moved to Gaoliu during the Eastern Han.
The military history of the Jin dynasty and the Sixteen Kingdoms encompasses the period of Chinese military activities from 266 AD to 420 AD. The Jin dynasty is usually divided into the Western Jin and Eastern Jin in Chinese historiography. Western Jin lasted from its usurpation of Cao Wei in 266 to 316 when the Uprising of the Five Barbarians split the empire and created a number of barbarian states in the north. The Jin court relocated to Jiankang, starting the era of Eastern Jin, which ended in 420 when it was usurped by Liu Yu, who founded the Liu Song dynasty.
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↑ Yang, Ruiwu; Zhang, Guanglin (16 December 2021). "太原别称溯源"[Tracing the origin of another name of Taiyuan]. Shanxi Archives.
1 2 汉典-三京. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
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1 2 3 4 A. D. Levine, The Reigns of Hui-tsung (1100–1126) and Ch’in-tsung (1126–1127) and the Fall of the Northern Sung, in P. J. Smith (ed.), The Cambridge History of China, vol. 5, Part One: The Sung Dynasty and Its Precursors, 907–1279, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1994), Ch. 7. ISBN978-0-521-81248-1
↑ R. Dunnel, The Hia Hia, in D. Twitchet and J. K. Fairbank (eds.), The Cambridge History of China, vol. 6, Alien Regimes and Border States, 907—1368 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1994), p. 178 ISBN978-0-521-24331-5
↑ P. J. Smith, Shen-tsung's Reign and the New Policies of Wang An-shih, 1067–1085, in P. J. Smith (ed.), The Cambridge History of China, vol. 5, Part One: The Sung Dynasty and Its Precursors, 907–1279, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1994), p. 357. ISBN978-0-521-81248-1
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