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'Taiyuan' ( lit. "Great Plains") is a prefecture-level city in China, capital of the Shanxi province. The city has an elevation of about 800 meters.

'太原市 (Tàiyuán Shì)'

Abbreviation: 并 (Pinyin: Bīng) Nickname: Bingzhou(并州)；Jinyang(晋阳)；Dragon City(龙城) etc.
Taiyuan is highlighted on this map Location of Taiyuan in China
'Administration Type'	Prefecture-level city
'Area'	6956 km²
'Population'	3.4138 million (2004)
'GDP' '- Total' '- Per Capita'	¥ 101.338 billion (2006) ¥ 27,994 (2006)
'Major Nationalities'	Han
'Mayor'	Zhang Bingsheng (张兵生)
'County-level divisions'	10
'Township-level divisions'	83
'Area Code'	+86-351
website:	http://www.taiyuan.gov.cn/

Contents

History

Economy

Tourism

Sister cities

Colleges and universities

External links

History

Taiyuan is an ancient capital, constructed by Zhaojianzi (趙簡子/赵简子) in ca. 500 BC, named Jinyang (晉陽/晋阳). It was renamed Taiyuan in the Qin Dynasty. Several Kings came from this city, therefore the other name of the city is "Dragon City".
A new city was built in 562 AD, which was later linked to the old city during the Tang Dynasty (733 AD).
In 617 AD, Li Yuan and his son Li Shimin rebelled against Sui Dynasty, and founded the Tang.
The oldest existing building in the city is the Temple of Goddess (聖母殿/圣母殿) inside the Jin Ci Complex; it was originally built in 1023 AD and reconstructed in 1102 AD.
The city had been deliberately flooded several times: 453 BC, 969 AD, and was destroyed by war in 1125 AD.
During Ming Dynasty, the city wall was reconstructed in 1568 AD.
During the Sino-Japanese War, Taiyuan was the most inland point that the Japanese Soldiers reached.

Economy

The GDP per capita was 12,821 yuan (US$1,550) in 2003, ranked no. 171 among 659 Chinese cities. In 2005, Taiyuan's nominal GDP was 89.55 billion yuan, a growth of 14.7% from the previous year. Taiyuan's primary, secondary, and tertiary industries were worth 2 billion yuan, 43.07 billion yuan, and 44.48 billion yuan respectively.
There are several big companies are in City of Taiyuan. Such as Taiyuan Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) which is actually the biggest stainless steel producing plant in the world.
[1]

Tourism

Tourist attractions in and around Taiyuan include [2]:

★ Chongshan Monastery

★ Jinci Temple

★ Twin Pagoda Temple

★ Mount Wutai (五台山）

★ Shuanglin Monastery

★ Liu Xiang Lane

★ Taiyuan Fifth High School

★ Shanxi Experimental Secondary School （山西省实验中学）
Also, Taiyuan is known for its Liuxiang shopping district and the construction of parks and recreational areas on both sides of the Fen River that are specifically praised by the UN Environmental Programme for their role in the improvement in the environmental condition of Taiyuan. Taiyuan's environmental improvement project is being copied in many other Chinese cities and urban areas around the world.

Sister cities

Taiyuan is twinned with:

★ - Chemnitz (Germany)

★ - Himeji (Hyōgo, Japan)

★ - Launceston, Tasmania, Australia

★ - Nashville (Tennessee, United States)

★ - Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Colleges and universities

★ Shanxi Agricultural University (山西农业大学)

★ Shanxi College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (山西中医学院)

★ Shanxi Medical University (山西医科大学)

★ Shanxi Teachers University also called Shanxi Normal University (山西师范大学)

★ Shanxi University (山西大学)

★ Shanxi University of Finance and Economics (山西财经大学)

★ Taiyuan Normal University (太原师范学院)

★ Taiyuan University of Science and Technology (太原科技大学)

★ Taiyuan University of Technology (太原理工大学)

★ North University of China (中北大学)

External links

★ Official Website (in English)

★ Taiyuan Dialect

★ TravelChinaGuide.com - City Guide of Taiyuan