Taiyuan (Chinese: 太原; pinyin: Tàiyuán; Wade-Giles: T'ai-yüan; lit. "Great Plains") is a prefecture-level city and the capital of Shanxi province, China. In 2004, the city had a population of 3.4 million.
Taiyuan was an ancient capital, constructed by Zhaojianzi (趙簡子/赵简子) in ca. 500 BC, named Jinyang (晉陽/晋阳). It was renamed Taiyuan in the Qin Dynasty. Several Emperors came from this city, the most famous emperor is Li Shimin during Tang Dynasty. M...
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Taiyuan (Chinese: 太原; pinyin: Tàiyuán; Wade-Giles: T'ai-yüan; lit. "Great Plains") is a prefecture-level city and the capital of Shanxi province, China. In 2004, the city had a population of 3.4 million.
Taiyuan was an ancient capital, constructed by Zhaojianzi (趙簡子/赵简子) in ca. 500 BC, named Jinyang (晉陽/晋阳). It was renamed Taiyuan in the Qin Dynasty. Several Emperors came from this city, the most famous emperor is Li Shimin during Tang Dynasty. Many ancient Chinese poets were also from Taiyuan. During the Tang Dynasty, Taiyuan was a secondary capital of China and a cultural center. The oldest existing building in the city is the Temple of Goddess (聖母殿/圣母殿) inside the Jin Ci Complex; it was originally built in 1023 AD and reconstructed in 1102 AD.
The city was originally the site of Jinyang, a strategic center for the ancient state of Zhao. After the Qin conquest of Zhao in 221 BC, it became the seat of the commandery (district under the control of a commander) of Taiyuan, which...
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