Linfen () is a
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 ...
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 ...
, bordering
Shaanxi
Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...
province to the west. Linfen City is located in the southern part of Shanxi Province, with the remaining branches of Taiyue to the east and the Luliang Mountains to the west. In the middle is a vast river valley plain, with the Fen River mainstream running across the north and south, and the land on both sides is fertile.
It is situated along the banks of the
Fen River
The Fen River drains the center of Shanxi Province, China. It originates in the Guancen Mountains of Ningwu County in northeast Shanxi, flows southeast into the basin of Taiyuan, and then south through the central valley of Shanxi before turni ...
. It has an area of
and according to the
2020 Census, a population of 3,976,481 inhabitants of which 959,198 live in the built-up (or metro) area made up of
Yaodu urban district. The GDP of Linfen ranked second in
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 ( ...
. It was known as Pingyang ( zh, labels=no, t=平陽) during the
Spring and Autumn period
The Spring and Autumn period () was a period in History of China, Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou (256 BCE), characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject t ...
. In 2006, the American Blacksmith Institute listed Linfen as one of the ten most polluted cities in the world, but air quality had improved by 2023.
Prior to 1978, Linfen was famous for its spring water, greenery and rich
agriculture
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
and therefore nicknamed "The Modern Fruit and Flower Town". Since then it has been developing into a main industrial center for
coal mining
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
, which has significantly damaged the city's environment, air quality, farming, health and its previous status as a green village.
Name

Linfen is named for the
Fen River
The Fen River drains the center of Shanxi Province, China. It originates in the Guancen Mountains of Ningwu County in northeast Shanxi, flows southeast into the basin of Taiyuan, and then south through the central valley of Shanxi before turni ...
. Its former names include Jin, Jinzhou (晋州), and Pingyang ( zh, labels=no, s=平阳). Linfen was called Pingyang in ancient times and was said to be the ancient capital of Yao in the Tang Dynasty. It belonged to Han in the Spring and Autumn Period, and the Qin and Han Dynasties were Hedong prefectures. In the third year of Jin Yongjia, Liu Yuan established his capital here.
History
Chinese archeologists and archaeogeneticists have argued that
legendary ruler Yao's capital was located in Linfen, a confirmation of local legend responsible for the name of the city's
Yaodu District
Yaodu District () is a District of the People's Republic of China, district of the city of Linfen, Shanxi, Shanxi Province, China. Yaodu spans 1,307 square kilometers in area, and has a population of 944,050 as of 2010. The district serves at the a ...
. In that sense, Linfen city is the earliest capital of China.
The area was the center of the
marchland and
duchy
A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition.
There once existed an important differe ...
of
Jin, named for the Jin River The duchy collapsed in the but gave its name to a Chinese princely title used as the
dynastic name of the
Sima
Sima or SIMA may refer to:
People
* Sima (Chinese surname)
* Sima (Persian given name), a Persian feminine name in use in Iran and Turkey
* Sima (Indian given name), an Indian feminine name used in South Asia
* Sima (surname)
* Sima (born 1 ...
clan. was centered on the town, which took its name as Jin and Jinzhou. Later, it was renamed , which was also adapted as the name for its chief town. The
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...
emperor of
Former Zhao
The Han-Zhao ( zh, s=汉赵, t=漢趙, p=Hàn Zhào; 304–329 AD), or Former Zhao ( zh, s=前赵, t=前趙, p=Qián Zhào), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Liu ( Luandi) clan of Chuge-Xiongnu ethnicity during the Sixteen Kingdoms per ...
Liu Cong made Pingyang his residence in the fourth century. "He kept court at Pingyang in
hanxiand ruled over central and southern
hanxi over
haanxi(except for the Han basin), northern
enan(except for
Kaifeng
Kaifeng ( zh, s=开封, p=Kāifēng) is a prefecture-level city in east-Zhongyuan, central Henan province, China. It is one of the Historical capitals of China, Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and ...
), southern
ebei and northern
handong"
[.] In the 10th century, the city's walls were considered "fortified beyond approach".
In the 1980s, Linfen was nicknamed "The Modern Fruit and Flower Town".
Geography
Linfen is located in the southwestern part of Shanxi, on the lower reaches of the Fen River, bounded by
Changzhi
Changzhi ( zh, s=长治) is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of Shanxi Province, China, bordering the provinces of Hebei and Henan to the northeast and east, respectively. Historically, the city was one of the 36 administrative areas ( ...
and
Jincheng
Jincheng is a prefecture-level city situated in the southeast of Shanxi province, China. It shares its border with Henan province to the south and southeast. The city is recognized as an industrial hub, with coal mining being one of its key indu ...
to the east, 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 ...
to the west (which also forms the border with
Shaanxi
Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...
),
Jinzhong
Jinzhong, formerly Yuci, is a prefecture-level city in east central Shanxi province of the People's Republic of China, bordering Hebei province to the east.
As of the 2020 census, its total population was 3,379,498 inhabitants of whom 1,226,61 ...
and
Lüliang
Lüliang ( zh, s=吕梁 , t=呂梁 , p=Lǚliáng), also spelled as Lvliang or Lyuliang, is a prefecture-level city in western Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It borders Shaanxi province across the Yellow River to the west, Jinzhong ...
to the north, 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 ...
to the south. The prefecture ranges in latitude from 35° 23′ N to 36° 37′ N, spanning , and in longitude from 110° 22′ E to 112° 34′ E, spanning . In all, the city's administrative area, at , covers 13% of the province's area.
[
Within its borders Linfen City has a variety of topographical features. It is characterised as having a "U" shape, with its mountains, covering 29.2% of the prefectural area, on all four cardinal directions, a basin, the Linfen Basin (), covering 19.4%, in the middle, and intervening hills, covering 51.4%, in between.][ In the east, from north to south, are Mount Huo () and the ]Zhongtiao Mountains
The Zhongtiao Mountains () are a major mountain range located in the south of China’s Shanxi Province.
Running from north east to south west the range connects with the Taihang Mountains to the east, overlooks the Yellow River to the south and f ...
; in the west are 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 elevations mostly above . The highest point in the prefecture is the main peak of Mount Huo, at , and the lowest is in Xiangning County, at . Important rivers in the area include the Yellow, Fen, Xinshui (), Qin (), Hui (), E (), and Qingshui Rivers ().
The whole prefecture-level city features a great variety of terrain. The city itself sits in a basin, which aggravates the pollution.
Climate
Linfen has a continental, 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 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''), has a temperate continental climate with four distinct seasons, with rain and heat occurring at the same time. With moderately cold, but dry winters, and hot, somewhat humid summers. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from in January to in July, and the annual mean is . The annual precipitation stands at , with close to 70% of this total falling from June to September. The frost-free period lasts on average 190 days per year. Extreme temperatures have ranged from to .
Pollution
China's rapid industrialization and urbanization beginning in the 1990s (see opening of China) led to increased energy demand causing a dramatic increase in the price of coal. This led to a rapid expansion of loosely regulated private mines. Mining, cooking, smelting and other heavy industries which developed around the city have led to catastrophic environmental damage.
In 2006, the Blacksmith Institute included Linfen in its annual "10 worst" report, calling the city the most polluted city in China. It has also been listed as one of the world's ten dirtiest cities by the Popular Science website. The city has ranked at the bottom of the World Bank's air quality rankings.
From its low point, in 2004, with only fifteen days out of the year with an acceptable level of air pollution
Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...
, the environmental situation has improved. After a series of negative reports on the extreme level of pollution in the city, efforts were made to clean up Linfen. Substandard mines were closed. Coal trucks were kept from entering the city, resulting in much less coal dust. The city has also switched much of its heating source from coal to gas. 197 large coal-fired boilers and more than 600 smaller boilers were decommissioned. As of 2007, 85% of population used natural gas rather than coal for their heating. The State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has forced many of the less-efficient smaller factories to close and enforced stricter standards for larger factories including mandating the installation of sulfur scrubbers.
Since 2006, the government has taken a series of measures to modify industrial structure and economic development mode. Relevant policies was issued such as emission thresholds of industrial pollution. Over the last few years the Ministry of Environmental Protection has been closely monitoring Linfen's environment conditions. While the ''China Youth Daily
The ''China Youth Daily'' ( zh, s=中国青年报, t=, p=) is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China. It has been the newspaper of the Communist Youth League of China since 1951. It has occasional ...
'' reported in 2014 that Linfen was experiencing the great change from the "most polluted city" to "model city of environmental protection", other sources suggest that little progress has been made in combating pollution. In 2018, the Chinese government openly criticized the city's failure to meet pollution targets, and a 2019 report by the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment found that the city's air pollution was the worst among the 168 cities the ministry monitored. Following the report, the city's government ordered further pollution controls for the city's industry.
Administrative divisions
The prefecture-level city of Linfen is divided in one district
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 county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
, two cities and fourteen counties
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 ...
. The information here presented uses the metric system and data from 2010 Census.
Tourism
Linfen prefecture is home to several notable tourist attractions including the Hukou Waterfall which is the largest waterfall on the Yellow River and the second largest in China. Hukou Waterfall is located west of Linfen city in Jinshan Gorge.
Other attractions are mostly located in Hongtong county. Most notable among these is Guangsheng Temple, built in 147 CE. Located in the upper Guangsheng temple is the Feihong Pagoda (飞虹塔), the largest and best preserved glazed Chinese pagoda. Also in Hongtong county is the Susan Prison (), a restored Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
prison made famous by the Peking opera
Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines instrumental music, vocal performance, mime, martial arts, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became ...
play (). It is Chinese oldest surviving prison. Dahuaishu Ancestor Memorial Garden is a major shown for the mandatory population migration (aka Hongwu
The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328– 24 June 1398), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Ming, personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, courtesy name Guorui, was the List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, founding emperor of the Ming dyna ...
great migration, 洪武大移民) in early Ming Dynasty
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
.
Demographics
Linfen recorded a population of approximately 4,508,400 people as of 2019, an increase of 80,100 from 2018. The city reported 2,414,700 urban residents, and 2,093,700 rural residents, giving the city a 53.56% urbanization rate. There are 28 ethnic minorities
The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...
in Linfen with a population exceeding 10,000 people: the Hui, the Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...
, the Tujia, Mongols
Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...
, the Miao Miao may refer to:
* Miao people, linguistically and culturally related group of people, recognized as such by the government of the People's Republic of China
* Miao script or Pollard script, writing system used for Miao languages
* Miao (Unicode ...
, the Zhuang, Koreans
Koreans are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula. The majority of Koreans live in the two Korean sovereign states of North and South Korea, which are collectively referred to as Korea. As of 2021, an estimated 7.3 m ...
, the Yi, the Buyi, the Bai, Uyghurs
The Uyghurs,. alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central Asia and East Asia. The Uyghurs are recognized as the ti ...
, the Mulao, the She, Tibetans
Tibetans () are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 7.7 million. In addition to the majority living in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans live in t ...
, the Li, the Dong, the Yao, Tajiks
Tajiks (; ; also spelled ''Tadzhiks'' or ''Tadjiks'') is the name of various Persian-speaking Eastern Iranian groups of people native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Even though the term ''Tajik'' ...
, the Gelao, the Daur, the Lahu, the Wa, the Hani, the Tu, the Xibo, the Lisu, the Qiang, and the Jingpo.
At the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, the permanent population will be 3.8872 million.
Economy
As of 2019, the city reported a GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performance o ...
of 145.26 billion Renminbi
The renminbi ( ; currency symbol, symbol: Yen and yuan sign, ¥; ISO 4217, ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB), also known as the Chinese yuan, is the official currency of the China, People's Republic of China. The renminbi is issued by the Peop ...
. Linfen's primary sector
The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining.
The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy in d ...
makes up 7.1% of the city's GDP, the secondary sector contributes 43.3% of the city's GDP, and the tertiary sector
The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...
makes up 49.6% of the city's GDP. The city’s GDP in 2023 will be 231.25 billion yuan.
Industry
Linfen has rich mineral resources including coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal i ...
, iron ore
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...
, copper
Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...
, and lead
Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
. Hedong Coal Field, Huoxi Coal Field and Qinshui Coal Field together comprise 62.9 billion tons of coal reserves. Iron ore reserves exceed 420 million tons. Coal mining and dressing, coking, metallurgy, non-ferrous metal smelting, and chemicals are the principle industries.
After a World Bank report in 2006 called Linfen "the most polluted city in the world", the local government began closing a number of mines and factories, costing the city's economy $300 million in 2007 alone. A number of industries also refitted their facilities to track and reduce pollution. The city's economy stagnated in the following years.
Transportation
Air
Linfen Yaodu Airport, in Yaodu district, was built in 1958 and closed in 1965. The airport has been under renovation since September 2010 and started operation in January 2016.
Railway
Linfen railway station, in Yaodu district, was built in 1935 on the important southern Tongpu railway.Linfen Railway Station is located on Yingchun North Street, Linfen City, Shanxi Province. Founded in 1935. It is 274 kilometers away from Taiyuan Station and 254 kilometers away from Huashan Station (southern section of Tongpu Railway).
Linfen West railway station, in Yaodu district, was built in 2014. It is on the Datong–Xi'an high-speed railway. From this station, passengers can go to Beijing, Xi'an, Taiyuan and Shijiazhuang directly.
Road
* China National Highway 108
China National Highway 108 (G108) is a National Highway which connects Beijing through Chengdu to Kunming. In Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 mil ...
* China National Highway 309
China National Highway 309 (G309) runs west from Rongcheng, Shandong, Rongcheng, Shandong towards Hebei Province, Shanxi Province, Shaanxi Province, Ningxia Autonomous Region, and ends in Lanzhou, Gansu. It is 2208 kilometres in length.
Route an ...
* G5 Beijing–Kunming Expressway
The Beijing–Kunming Expressway (), designated as G5 and commonly referred to as the Jingkun Expressway () is an expressway that connects the cities of Beijing, and Kunming, in Yunnan province. It is in length. As of 2018, the expressway had b ...
* G22 Qingdao–Lanzhou Expressway
Education
* Shanxi Normal University (山西师范大学)
* Shanxi Institute of Electronic Science and Technology (山西电子科技学院)
Notable People
* Linjie Deng (born 1992) - multimedia artist
* Chai Jing, Chinese writer and host.
References
External links
Official website of Linfen Government
A canary in the Chinese coal mine
(published 2007-03-02; accessed 2007-04-01)
BBC article Blacksmith Institute list
{{Authority control
Cities in Shanxi
Prefecture-level divisions of Shanxi