Xi County, Shanxi
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Xi County or Xixian ( zh, s=隰县 , t=隰縣 , p=Xī Xiàn) is a
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
in the southwest of
Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...
province,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. It is located in the northwest of the administrative area of the
prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province of China, province and above a Counties of the People's Republic of China, county in China's ...
of
Linfen Linfen () is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shanxi province, People's Republic of China, China, bordering Shaanxi province to the west. Linfen City is located in the southern part of Shanxi Province, with the remaining branches of T ...
. The county spans an area of , and according to the 2010 Chinese census, Xi County had a population of 103,617.


Toponymy

The county was named after a definition in the Erya which stated "that which is wet shall be called ''xi''" (), in reference to the county's wet period during the spring.


History

During the
Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
, the area was organized as Puzi County (). Under the
Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei ( zh, c=北魏, p=Běi Wèi), Tuoba Wei ( zh, c=拓跋魏, p=Tuòbá Wèi), Yuan Wei ( zh, c=元魏, p=Yuán Wèi) and Later Wei ( zh, t=後魏, p=Hòu Wèi), was an Dynasties of China, impe ...
, the northern portion of present-day Xi County was organized as part of , and the southern portion was part of Pingchang County (). In 579 CE, the
Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties of China's ...
established Changshou County () in the area, under the jurisdiction of . In 585 CE, the area was reorganized as , which existed on and off until the area was reorganized as Xichuan County () in the mid 14th century. In 1912, the area was reorganized as Xi County, as it is today, belonging to . Under the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, the county was under the jurisdiction of , until it was reorganized as
Linfen Linfen () is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shanxi province, People's Republic of China, China, bordering Shaanxi province to the west. Linfen City is located in the southern part of Shanxi Province, with the remaining branches of T ...
in 1970.


Geography

The county is located on the western edge of the
Lüliang Mountains The Lüliang Mountains are a mountains of China, mountain range in central China, dividing Shanxi's Fen River valley from the Yellow River. The range forces the Yellow River southwards on the eastern side of the Ordos Loop but tapers off to the so ...
, with an average elevation ranging from to above sea level. Xi County's highest point is above sea level. The , a
tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...
of the
Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...
, flows through the county.


Climate


Administrative divisions

Xi County administers three towns and five townships.


Towns

The county's three towns are , , and .


Townships

The county's five townships are , , , , and .


Demographics

The county's population per the 2010 Chinese census was 103,617, up from the 95,895 reported in the 2000 Chinese census. In 1999, the county's population was estimated to be 97,758.


Little West Paradise

The most famous cultural relic in Xixian is Xiaoxitian, also known as Little Western Paradise and Qianfo'an, it's a Buddhist Chan temple located atop Fenghuang Mountain, west of Xixian County in Linfen City, Shanxi Province. The temple was founded by the Chan Master Dongming during the second year of the Chongzhen period in the Ming Dynasty (1629). It was originally named Qianfo'an due to the presence of a thousand Buddha statues in the Mahavira Hall. Later, the temple was renamed Xiaoxitian (Little Western Heaven) to distinguish it from another Ming Dynasty temple, Daxitian (Great Western Heaven), located south of the city, and because the temple’s plaque was inscribed with the words “Dao Ru Xitian” (The Way Leads to the Western Heaven). Xixian Xiaoxitian covers an area of over 1,100 square meters and includes various structures such as the Mahavira Hall, Manjusri Hall, Samantabhadra Hall, Amitabha Hall, Hall of Heavenly Kings, Weituo Hall, Ksitigarbha Hall, a bell tower, and a drum tower. The temple complex is divided into upper, middle, and front courtyards by a series of corridors, with two-thirds of its halls being double-story structures. The temple's suspended sculptures and colorful paintings are of significant scholarly interest for the study of Ming and Qing Dynasty art. On March 5, 2013, Xixian Xiaoxitian was designated as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the State Council of the People's Republic of China, as part of the fourth batch of such sites. The temple is currently open to the public, with visiting hours from 8:00 AM to 7:30 PM daily, and an admission fee of 25 RMB per person.


References

{{Coord, 36, 42, 42, N, 111, 00, 00, E, region:CN-14_type:adm3rd_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title County-level divisions of Shanxi Linfen