Yuanping is a

county-level city 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 ...

under the administration of 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 Chi ...

Xinzhou Xinzhou, ancient name Xiurong (秀荣), 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 ...

, in north-central

Shanxi Province Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level ...

, China.

History

The territory of present-day Yuanping was held by

Zhao Zhao may refer to: * Zhao (surname) (赵), a Chinese surname ** commonly spelled Chao in Taiwan or up until the early 20th century in other regions ** Chiu, from the Cantonese pronunciation ** Cho (Korean surname), represent the Hanja 趙 (Chine ...

during the

Warring States Period The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...

Chinese history The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the ''Book of Documents'' (early chapter ...

. Under the Qin, it was part of

Taiyuan Prefecture Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. ...

. 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 imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

. 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 Zhao may refer to: * Zhao (surname) (赵), a Chinese surname ** commonly spelled Chao in Taiwan or up until the early 20th century in other regions ** Chiu, fr ...

Geography

Yuanping is located nearly due north of

Taiyuan Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. ...

, 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 atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

-influenced,

continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' ( ...

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 semi ...

(

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

''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 is an important factor in diurnal temperature variation: peak da ...

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 (), commonly referred to as the ''Erguang Expressway'' () is an expressway that connects the cities of Erenhot, Inner Mongolia, and Guangzhou, Guangdong. When fully complete, it will be in length. Route Inner M ...

. Yuanping is also at the junction of the

Beijing–Yuanping Railway The Beijing–Yuanping or Jingyuan railway (), is a railroad in northern China between Beijing, the national capital, and Yuanping in Shanxi Province. The line is in length, and traverses through Beijing Municipality, Hebei and Shanxi Province ...

and the Datong–Puzhou Railway.

References

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