Yuanping is a

county-level city A county-level city () is a County-level divisions of China, county-level administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China. County-level cities have judiciary, judicial but no legislature, legislative rights over their own local or ...

under the administration 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 ...

Xinzhou Xinzhou, ancient name Xiurong (), is a prefecture-level city occupying the north-central section of Shanxi Province in the People's Republic of China, bordering Hebei to the east, Shaanxi to the west, and Inner Mongolia to the northwest. As ...

, in north-central

Shanxi Province Shanxi; formerly romanised as Shansi is a province in North China. Its 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 ( ...

, China.

History

The territory of present-day Yuanping was held by Zhao during the

Warring States Period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

Chinese history The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

. Under the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...

, it was part of Taiyuan Commandary. It became in 114BC under Emperor Wu of the Han. It became in Jian'an 15 during the

Eastern Han 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 ...

. Three years later, its name was restored as Yuanping County, but it was moved to

Yanmen Commandery Yanmen Commandery was an administrative subdivision (''jùn'') of the state of Zhao established BC and of northern imperial Chinese dynasties until AD758. It occupied lands in what is now Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. Its first seat was at Shanwu ...

Geography

Yuanping is located nearly due north of

Taiyuan Taiyuan; Mandarin pronunciation: (Jin Chinese, Taiyuan Jin: /tʰai˦˥ ye˩˩/) is the capital of Shanxi, China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. It is an industrial base foc ...

, the provincial capital.

Climate

Yuanping has a

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

-influenced,

continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (album), an album by Saint Etienne * Continen ...

semi-arid climate 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 se ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''BSk''), with cold and very dry winters, and hot, humid summers. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from in January to in July, and the annual mean is . Nearly half of the of precipitation occurs in July and August alone. Due to the high elevation and dry climate, the

diurnal temperature variation In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day. Temperature lag Temperature lag, also known as thermal inertia, is an important factor in diur ...

easily exceeds in winter and spring. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 50% in July to 62% in four months, and the average annual total is 2,585 hours.

Transportation

The city lies on the

G55 Erenhot–Guangzhou Expressway The Erenhot–Guangzhou Expressway ( zh, s=二连浩特—广州高速公路), designated as G55 and commonly referred to as the Erguang Expressway ( zh, s=二广高速公路) is an expressway that connects the cities of Erenhot, Inner Mongolia, a ...

Yuanping West railway station Yuanpingxi (Yuanping West) railway station is a railway station of the Datong–Xi'an high-speed railway and the Jining–Datong–Yuanping high-speed railway, located in Shahuangcun, Xizhen township, Yuanping, Xinzhou, Shanxi, China Ch ...

lies on the

Datong–Xi'an high-speed railway Datong–Xi'an high-speed railway or Daxi HSR ( zh, s=大西客运专线 , t=大西客運專線 , p=Dà–Xī kèyùn zhuānxiàn) is a dual-track, electrified, high-speed rail line operated by CR Taiyuan Group and CR Xi'an Group between ...

and the

Jining–Datong–Yuanping high-speed railway The Jining–Datong–Yuanping high-speed railway, also referred to in Chinese under the acronym Jidayuan high-speed railway () is a Chinese high-speed railway connecting Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia with Datong and Yuanping, Shanxi Province. The line ...

. Yuanping station is at the junction of the Beijing–Yuanping Railway and the

Datong–Puzhou Railway The Datong–Puzhou or Tongpu railway (), is a major trunkline railroad in northern China, and the main axial railway of Shanxi Province. The railway is located entirely within Shanxi and diagonally bisects the province from Datong in the northea ...

References

www.yuanping.gov.cn
County-level divisions of Shanxi Xinzhou {{Shanxi-geo-stub