Yangquan (阳泉)

1. Introduction

Yangquan City is a prefecture-level city under the jurisdiction of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China, located in the eastern part of Shanxi Province. The city borders Xinzhou City to the north, Taiyuan City to the northwest, Jinzhong City to the southwest, and Shijiazhuang City of Hebei Province to the east. Situated in the mountainous basin at the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau and the western foothills of the Taihang Mountains, its topography is predominantly mountainous and hilly. The Hutuo River flows through the northern part of the city, while the Tao River runs through the urban area, merging with the Wen River in the eastern part of the city before exiting the region. Yangquan is a city that developed in modern times due to industries such as coal mining and iron smelting. In 1906, the Zhengding–Taiyuan Railway established a station in Yangquan, leading to its growth as a coal base and industrial center in eastern Shanxi. The People's Government of Yangquan City is located at No. 32 South Street, Chengqu District.

nix

2. History

During the Paleolithic Age, the area now known as Yangquan City was already inhabited by humans. Paleolithic artifacts have been discovered in Zaoyan and Daliangding in the northwest of Pingding County, as well as in Xiyan Town of Yuxian County.

From the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn Period, Yangquan belonged to the State of Jin.

During the Warring States Period, Yangquan was part of the State of Zhao.

After the Qin Dynasty unified China, Yangquan came under the jurisdiction of Taiyuan Commandery.

In the first year of the Jianyuan era of the Western Han Dynasty (140 BCE), Shang'ai County was established, with its county seat located in what is now Xincheng Village, Zhangzhuang Town, Pingding County. Yangquan fell under the administration of Shang'ai County.

In the first year of the Tianbao era of the Tang Dynasty (742 CE), Shang'ai County was renamed Guangyang County, and its county seat was relocated to present-day Guangyang Village in Xiyang County.

During the Five Dynasties period, the area successively belonged to the Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, and Northern Han dynasties.

In the fourth year of the Taiping Xingguo era of the Northern Song Dynasty (979 CE), Guangyang County was renamed Pingding County, and its county seat was moved back to Pingding County.

During the Jin Dynasty, Pingding County was renamed Pingding Prefecture.

In the Yuan Dynasty, the "Yangquan Qiyun Daoyuan" in the seventh volume of Yuan Haowen's Yishan Collection documented Yangquan.

During the Ming Dynasty, Yuzhou was downgraded to a county.

In the Qing Dynasty, the Qianlong edition of the Pingding Prefecture Gazetteer listed "Yangquan Spring Scenery" as one of the Eight Scenic Spots of Pingding.

Before 1900, the present-day urban area of Yangquan was a small mountain village called "Yangquan" within Pingding Prefecture. Some also believe it was merely a barren area known as Shajiangkou.

After the completion of the Shijiazhuang–Taiyuan Railway in 1903, the mining industry began to flourish.

In the early years of the Republic of China, Pingding Prefecture was renamed Pingding County, and Yangquan came under its jurisdiction.

By 1936, a town with a population of over 30,000 had formed near Yangquan.

In 1947, the Chinese Communist Party established Yangquan City, but its jurisdiction did not include Pingding County and Yuxian County. It was later renamed the Yangquan Mining District. Yangquan City (Mining District) successively came under the administration of the North China Joint Administrative Committee, the North China People's Government, and Shanxi Province.

In 1983, the system of cities administering counties was implemented, and Pingding County and Yuxian County were placed under the jurisdiction of Yangquan City.

3. Geography

Yangquan City Meteorological Data (1971–2000)

| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|-----------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
| Record high °C (°F) | 14.7 (58.5) | 24.2 (75.6) | 26.8 (80.2) | 36.5 (97.7) | 37.8 (100.0) | 39.2 (102.6) | 40.2 (104.4) | 37.6 (99.7) | 36.1 (97.0) | 30.1 (96.2) | 25.1 (77.2) | 16.9 (92.4) | 40.2 (104.4) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 2.3 (36.1) | 5.1 (41.2) | 11.0 (51.8) | 19.6 (67.3) | 25.4 (77.7) | 29.0 (84.2) | 29.4 (84.9) | 27.7 (81.9) | 23.9 (75.0) | 18.3 (64.9) | 10.3 (50.5) | 4.2 (59.6) | 17.2 (62.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | -3.4 (25.9) | -1.0 (30.2) | 4.8 (40.0) | 13.1 (55.6) | 19.0 (66.2) | 22.9 (73.2) | 24.0 (75.2) | 22.4 (72.3) | 17.9 (64.2) | 12.0 (53.6) | 4.6 (40.3) | -1.2 (29.8) | 11.3 (52.3) |
| Average low °C (°F) | -7.8 (18.0) | -5.5 (22.1) | -0.1 (31.8) | 7.5 (45.5) | 13.1 (55.6) | 17.3 (63.1) | 19.6 (67.3) | 18.3 (64.9) | 13.0 (55.4) | 7.1 (44.8) | 0.2 (32.4) | -5.3 (22.5) | 6.5 (43.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | -16.2 (2.8) | -15.4 (4.3) | -12.6 (9.3) | -2.5 (27.5) | 3.0 (37.4) | 8.2 (46.8) | 13.6 (56.5) | 9.8 (49.6) | 3.8 (38.8) | -4.3 (24.3) | -12.3 (9.9) | -15.2 (4.6) | -16.2 (2.8) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 4.1 (0.16) | 6.5 (0.26) | 14.5 (0.57) | 20.9 (0.82) | 43.6 (1.72) | 71.7 (2.82) | 130.9 (5.15) | 119.7 (4.71) | 61.6 (2.43) | 26.2 (1.03) | 12.3 (0.48) | 3.9 (0.15) | 515.9 (20.3) |
| Average precipitation days (≥0.1 mm) | 2.6 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 6.7 | 10.0 | 14.6 | 12.9 | 9.0 | 5.9 | 3.8 | 2.0 | 80.4 |

4. Administrative Divisions

Yangquan City currently administers 3 municipal districts and 2 counties.

• Municipal Districts: Cheng District, Kuang District, Jiao District
• Counties: Pingding County, Yu County

| Division Code | Division Name | Chinese Pinyin | Area (sq km) | Resident Population (2020 Census) | Government Seat | Postal Code | Subdistricts | Towns | Townships | |----------|----------|----------|----------------|-----------------------|----------|----------|----|----|----| | 140300 | Yangquan City | Yángquán Shi | 4,558.93 | 1,318,505 | Cheng District | 045000 | 12 | 20 | 12 | | 140302 | Cheng District | Chéng Qū | 57.19 | 225,443 | Yijing Subdistrict | 045000 | 6 | 1 | | | 140303 | Kuang District | Kuàng Qū | 198.15 | 220,691 | Pingtan Street Subdistrict | 045000 | 6 | | | | 140311 | Jiao District | Jiāo Qū | 405.12 | 275,094 | Yinying Town | 045000 | | 3 | 4 | | 140321 | Pingding County | Píngdìng Xiàn | 1,390.94 | 306,228 | Guanshan Town | 045200 | | 8 | 2 | | 140322 | Yu County | Yú Xiàn | 2,514.38 | 281,049 | Xiushui Town | 045100 | | 8 | 6 |

5. Economy

• The industry is primarily based on coal mining and iron smelting, and also includes sectors such as mining machinery, electricity, chemicals, electronic instruments, and textiles.
• Rural township industries have become the pillar of the city's economy.

6. Transportation

The Shijiazhuang–Taiyuan double-track railway runs through the city, with its branch lines extending in all directions, making it the largest railway freight station in North China. Currently, the main external railway passenger station in Yangquan City is Yangquan North Station, located in Yuxian County. This station is connected to Yangquan East Station, which was newly added in the urban area of Yangquan in 2020, via the Yangquan–Datong Railway. The road network is also well-developed, with the G20 Taiyuan–Jiuguan Expressway passing through the area.

• National Highways 307, 207, and 239 traverse the city.

In its urban planning, Yangquan City has proposed the construction of BRT rapid transit lines on roads such as Guangyang Road, as well as a new urban rail transit system for Yangquan. However, neither of these projects has commenced construction to date.

7. Education

7.1 Higher Education

• Shanxi Institute of Technology
• Yangquan Teachers College
• Yangquan Vocational and Technical College

7.2 Secondary Education

• Yangquan No.1 Middle School
• Yangquan No.2 Middle School
• Yangquan No.3 Middle School
• Yangquan No.11 Middle School
• Yangquan No.15 Middle School
• Pingding No.1 Middle School
• Pingding No.2 Middle School
• Yinying Middle School

8. Population

As of the end of 2022, the permanent resident population of Yangquan City was 1.3111 million, an increase of 84 people compared to the end of the previous year. The annual number of births was 8,789, with a birth rate of 6.7‰, a decrease of 0.84 per thousand points from the previous year.

According to the Seventh National Population Census in 2020, the city's permanent resident population was 1,318,505. Compared with the 1,368,502 people from the Sixth National Population Census, there was a total decrease of 49,997 people over the ten years, a decline of 3.65%, with an average annual growth rate of -0.37%. Among them, the male population was 676,396, accounting for 51.3% of the total population; the female population was 642,109, accounting for 48.7% of the total population. The overall sex ratio (with females as 100) was 105.34. The population aged 0–14 was 189,897, accounting for 14.4% of the total population; the population aged 15–59 was 853,822, accounting for 64.76% of the total population; the population aged 60 and above was 274,786, accounting for 20.84% of the total population, of which the population aged 65 and above was 186,034, accounting for 14.11% of the total population. The urban population was 939,172, accounting for 71.23% of the total population; the rural population was 379,333, accounting for 28.77% of the total population.

8.1 Ethnic Groups

Among the city's permanent resident population, the Han ethnic group population was 1,314,227, accounting for 99.68%; the combined population of various ethnic minorities was 4,278, accounting for 0.32%. Compared with the Sixth National Population Census in 2010, the Han population decreased by 50,896, a decline of 3.73%, with its proportion of the total population decreasing by 0.08 percentage points; the combined population of ethnic minorities increased by 899, a growth of 26.61%, with its proportion of the total population increasing by 0.08 percentage points.

8.2 Dialects

The dialects of the urban area and Pingding County belong to the Dabao cluster of Jin Chinese, while the dialect of Yuxian County belongs to the Bingzhou cluster of Jin Chinese. However, some scholars believe that the Yangquan dialect as a whole belongs to the Yangquan cluster (also known as the Pingliao sub-cluster) under the Bingzhou cluster.

nix

nix

nix

nix

nix

nix

Named after "Yangquan"

Urban area

Pingding County

Han Chinese population accounts for 99.68%; ethnic minority populations account for 0.32%

Sophora japonica

Rose