Taiyuan

About Taiyuan

Ringed by mountains on the banks of the Fen River, Taiyuan has been a strategic city for more than two thousand years. Known in ancient times as Jinyang, it was the base from which the founders of the Tang dynasty launched their rise to power, and today it is the capital of Shanxi province, a centre of coal and heavy industry with a long cultural memory.

That memory is best seen at Jinci Temple, whose Song dynasty hall and clay maidens are among the finest of their kind in China, and at the Twin Pagodas, the city's emblem. Chongshan Temple, the Buddhist caves of Tianlongshan and the rediscovered Mengshan Giant Buddha add more layers, while the Shanxi Museum gathers the province's treasures in one place.

Taiyuan is also a gateway to wider Shanxi, with the ancient walled town of Pingyao and the holy mountain of Wutai Shan within reach. Eat as the locals do: knife-cut noodles, hearty lamb dishes and almost everything seasoned with dark aged vinegar.