Yuncheng

Yuncheng is the southernmost prefecture-level city in Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It borders Linfen and Jincheng municipalities to the north and east, and Henan (Luoyang and Jiyuan to the east, Sanmenxia to the south) and Shaanxi (Weinan) provinces to the east, south and west, respectively. As of the 2020 census, its population was 4,774,508 inhabitants (5,134,779 in 2010), of whom 928,334 (680,036 in 2010) lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of Yanhu District. One can note than Pinglu County, 205,080 inhabitants in the south, is now part of Sanmenxia built-up (or metro) area.

History

In early China,^[when?] it was the location of the state of Kunwu (昆吾). Yuncheng was the site of the Yuncheng Campaign (三打运城), battle between the Kuomintang army and the People's Liberation Army during Chinese civil war.

The famous general Guan Yu from the late Han dynasty was also born in this region.

Archaeology

In July 2022, archaeologists announced a discovery of a 2.8 cm long 5.200 years old stone carving chrysalis in a semi-crypt house at the Shangguo Site in Wenxi County. Archaeologists made suppositions that this house may have belonged to the Yangshao Culture period, based on the unearthed pottery pieces. According to archaeologist Tian Jianwen, discovery of stone carving chrysalises provided significant information for the study of the silkworm culture in China.^[3][4]

Administration

There are 13 county-level administrative divisions under Yuncheng's jurisdiction, including 1 district, 10 counties and 2 county-level cities. The Municipal executive, legislature and judiciary are in Yanhu District (盐湖区), together with the CPC and Public Security Bureau.

Map
Yanhu Linyi County Wanrong County Wenxi County Jishan County Xinjiang County Jiang County Yuanqu County Xia County Pinglu County Ruicheng County Yongji (city) Hejin (city)
Name	Chinese	Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2010)	Area (km2)	Density (/km2)
Yanhu District	盐湖区	Yánhú Qū	680,036	1,237	501
Yongji City	永济市	Yǒngjì Shì	444,724	1,221	352
Hejin City	河津市	Héjīn Shì	395,527	593	607
Ruicheng County	芮城县	Ruìchéng Xiàn	394,849	1,161	327
Linyi County	临猗县	Línyī Xiàn	572,508	1,350	393
Wanrong County	万荣县	Wànróng Xiàn	439,364	1,037	405
Xinjiang County	新绛县	Xīnjiàng Xiàn	332,473	600	533
Xia County	夏县	Xià Xiàn	352,821	1,328	264
Jishan County	稷山县	Jìshān Xiàn	347,425	680	485
Wenxi County	闻喜县	Wénxǐ Xiàn	404,150	1,160	328
Jiang County	绛县	Jiàng Xiàn	281,643	968	279
Pinglu County	平陆县	Pínglù Xiàn	258,241	1,151	217
Yuanqu County	垣曲县	Yuánqǔ Xiàn	231,018	1,620	136

Climate

Yuncheng has a continental, monsoon-influenced semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk), with four distinct seasons.^[5] Due to its southerly location and position to the north of the Zhongtiao Mountains, allowing for downsloping when winds are from the south, it is among the warmest locales in the province. Winters are cold and very dry, while summers are hot and humid. Monthly mean temperatures range from −0.6 °C (30.9 °F) in January to 27.5 °C (81.5 °F) in July, and the annual mean is 14.23 °C (57.6 °F). Over 60% of the annual rainfall occurs from June to September. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 45% in March to 54% in May and July, the city receives 2,219 hours of bright sunshine annually, low by Shanxi standards and North China.

Notable people

• Guan Yu, general and deified historical figure
• Jing Haipeng, PLAAC astronaut
• Zhang Ziyi, Chinese zootechnician
• Gladys Aylward, British missionary who works in the city in the 1930s

Transportation

• China National Highway 209
• G59 Hohhot–Beihai Expressway
• Datong–Xi'an Passenger Railway, with frequent service to Beijing, Taiyuan, and Xi'an.^[9] Besides the Yuncheng North Railway Station (near Yuncheng's central city), the railway also has stations at Yongji and Wenxi.
• Yuncheng Zhangxiao Airport

Notes and references

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yuncheng.

1. ^ "China: Shānxī (Prefectures, Cities, Districts and Counties) - Population Statistics, Charts and Map".
2. ^ 山西省统计局、国家统计局山西调查总队 (December 2021). 《山西统计年鉴－2021》. 中国统计出版社. ISBN 978-7-5037-7824-7.
3. ^ "5,200-year-old stone carving chrysalis found in north China-Xinhua". www.chinaview.cn. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
4. ^ Büyükyıldırım, Oğuz (19 July 2022). "5,200-year-old stone carving silkworm chrysalis discovered in north China". Arkeonews. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
5. ^ "Updated Asian Map of the Köppen system". wikimedia.org. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
6. ^ 中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
7. ^ 中国气象数据网 (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
8. ^ 中国地面国际交换站气候标准值月值数据集（1971－2000年）. China Meteorological Administration. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
9. ^ Yuncheng North schedule Archived 28 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine (in Chinese)