Sanmenxia (;
postal: Sanmenhsia) is a
prefecture-level city
A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure.
During the Republican era, many of China' ...
in the west of
Henan Province
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
, China. The westernmost prefecture-level city in Henan, Sanmenxia borders
Luoyang
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...
to the east,
Nanyang
Nanyang is the romanization of two common Chinese place names. It may refer to:
Written as 南洋 (Southern Ocean)
* Nanyang (region), a Chinese term denoting the Southeast Asian lands surrounding the South China Sea
;China
* Nanyang Fleet, Qing ...
to the southeast,
Shaanxi Province
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), Ningx ...
to the west and
Shanxi Province
Shanxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is ...
to the north. The city lies on the south side of the
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...
at the point where the river cuts through the
Loess Plateau
The Chinese Loess Plateau, or simply the Loess Plateau, is a plateau in north-central China formed of loess, a clastic silt-like sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. It is located southeast of the Gobi Desert and is surroun ...
on its way to the
North China Plain
The North China Plain or Huang-Huai-Hai Plain () is a large-scale downfaulted rift basin formed in the late Paleogene and Neogene and then modified by the deposits of the Yellow River. It is the largest alluvial plain of China. The plain is bord ...
.
As of the 2020 census, it was home to 2,034,872 inhabitants (2,234,018 in 2010). However, as of the 2010 census 947,588 lived in the built-up area made of
Hubin, Shanzhou urban districts and
Pinglu County
Pinglu County () is a county in southern Shanxi province of China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yuncheng and has a population of approximately 200,000. Pinglu is historically an agricultural county, producing appl ...
in neighboring Shanxi (269,188 inhabitants), now within the agglomeration.
Names and History
The city's name in Chinese () means "The Gorge of Three Gateways" and is derived from two islands that split the Yellow River into three parts.
According to Chinese mythology,
Yu the Great
Yu the Great (大禹) was a legendary king in ancient China who was famed for his introduction of flood control, his establishment of the Xia dynasty which inaugurated dynastic rule in China, and his upright moral character. He figures prominen ...
used a divine axe to cut the mountain ridge three times, creating the Sanmenxia gorges to prevent massive flooding. The three "''men''" or gates were then named "The Gateway of Man" (), "The Gateway of Gods" () and "The Gateway of Devils" ().
With the construction of the
Sanmenxia Dam
The Sanmenxia Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the middle-reaches of the Yellow River near Sanmenxia Gorge on the border between Shanxi province and Henan Province, China. The dam is multi-purpose and was constructed for flood and ice control alon ...
in the late 1950s, the ancient passes were flooded.
During the
Western Zhou Dynasty
The Western Zhou ( zh, c=, p=Xīzhōu; c. 1045 BC – 771 BC) was a royal dynasty of China and the first half of the Zhou dynasty. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye and ended when the Quanrong nomad ...
, Sanmenxia was part of the territory of the
State of Western Guo, ruled by relatives of the ruling Ji family of Zhou. Guo moved its capital from modern day
Baoji
() is a prefecture-level city in western Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China. Since the early 1990s, Baoji has been the second largest city in Shaanxi.
Geography
The prefecture-level city of Baoji had a population of 3,321,853 accordin ...
to Shangyang (), next to Sanmenxia. Later, this territory was annexed the
State of Jin.
Archaeological finds near Sanmenxia between 1956 and 1991 revealed mass chariot graves and bronzeware of Western Guo State rulers. Furthermore, the archaeological site “Shihao Section of Xiaohan Ancient Road”, an excavated pathway that is part of the
world heritage site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
“
Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor”, is also located in Sanmenxia. In 2011, the
Sanmenxia Cultural Sports Centre Stadium
Sanmenxia (; postal: Sanmenhsia) is a prefecture-level city in the west of Henan Province, China. The westernmost prefecture-level city in Henan, Sanmenxia borders Luoyang to the east, Nanyang to the southeast, Shaanxi Province to the west and Sh ...
opened. The association football venue has a capacity of 22,000.
Geography and climate
Sanmenxia is located in western Henan on the southern (right) bank of the Yellow River, and is surrounded on three sides by mountains, with elevations generally increasing from northeast to southwest. Most of the prefecture is at an altitude of , although the highest peak in the province, at , is located in Lingbao. The prefecture is at the intersection of Henan, Shanxi, and Shaanxi provinces, bordering Luoyang to the east, Nanyang to the south,
Weinan
Weinan () is a prefecture-level city in the east central Shaanxi province, China. The city lies on the lower section of the Wei River confluence into the Yellow River, about east of the provincial capital Xi'an, and borders the provinces of Shan ...
(Shaanxi) to the west, and
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 Shaan ...
(Shanxi) to the north across the Yellow River.
Sanmenxia has a mostly dry,
monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...
-influenced continental climate with four seasons. Winters are moderately cold and very dry, while summers are hot and humid. Monthly daily average temperatures range from in January to in July, and the annual mean is . More than half of the annual precipitation falls from July to September. There are between 184 and 218 frost-free days per annum. In the
Köppen system, the city is in the transition zone between a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
(Köppen ''Cwa'') and
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(Köppen ''Dwa''), and receives barely enough precipitation to avoid being
semi-arid
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
(Köppen ''BSk'').
[Peel, M. C. and Finlayson, B. L. and McMahon, T. A. (2007)]
"Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification"
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11: 1633-1644. ISSN 1027-5606.
Administration
The
prefecture-level city
A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure.
During the Republican era, many of China' ...
of Sanmenxia administers two
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
, two
county-level cities
A county-level municipality (), county-level city or county city, formerly known as prefecture-controlled city (1949–1970: ; 1970–1983: ), is a county-level administrative division of the People's Republic of China. County-level ...
and two
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
.
*
Hubin District
Hubin District () is a district of the city of Sanmenxia, Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which lit ...
()
*
Shanzhou District
Shanzhou District, previously known as Shan County or Shanxian or Shaan, is an urban district of Sanmenxia in western Henan, China, bordering Shanxi province to the north.
It is located on the southern bank of the Yellow River and includes th ...
()
*
Lingbao City
Lingbao (; postal: Lingpao) is a county-level city and the westernmost county-level division of Henan province, China, bordering the provinces of Shanxi to the north and Shaanxi to the west. In ancient times, the Hongnong Commandery was located ...
()
*
Yima City ()
*
Lushi County
Lushi County () is a county under the jurisdiction of Sanmenxia City, Henan Province, the People's Republic of China. It is adjacent to Lingbao City in the north, Luoning County and Luanchuan County in the east, Xixia County in Nanyang City in t ...
()
*
Mianchi County
Mianchi County is a county under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Sanmenxia, in the northwest of Henan province, bordering Shanxi province to the north and northwest. Its population in 2019 was 353,200.
History
Mianchi is kno ...
()
Transportation
![SanMenXia Rail Station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/SanMenXia_Rail_Station.JPG)
*
China National Highway 209
China National Highway 209 (G209) runs from Sonid Left Banner, Inner Mongolia to Beihai, Guangxi province. It is
3,435 kilometres in length and runs south from Huhhot towards Shanxi province, Henan province, Hubei province, Hunan province, and ...
*
China National Highway 310
China National Highway 310 (G310) runs northwest from Lianyungang, Jiangsu towards Anhui, Henan, Shaanxi provinces, and ends in Tianshui, Gansu. It was originally 1613 kilometres in length, but was later extended westward to Gonghe County in Qing ...
References
External links
Government Website of Sanmenxia
{{authority control
Cities in Henan
National Forest Cities in China
Prefecture-level divisions of Henan