Travel Guide Taiyuan 太原

HistoryTaiyuan was created at the time of the Zhou (1,000 B.C.), but there were objects dating back to 2,500 years before our era attesting to a well-standing housing. Taiyuan is located in the north of the large central plain which originally formed the country of the Middle. This geographical position, between the northern steppes and the central plain, made it a point of resistance to the hordes of nomadic peoples. The Huns, the Mongols and the Mandchous have each taken their turn on China through Taiyuan.When it was not the barbarians of the North, it was the emperors of the different dynasties who fought for power. An imperial army general, Li Yuan, even took the title of emperor and founded what became the largest dynasty in Chinese history, the Tang (618-907 ap). ). Marco Polo, on his trip to China in the thirteenth century, said Taiyuan: " It's a thriving city, an important center for trade and industry. " " "Following the opium wars, from 1889 onwards, Taiyuan began to modernize, thanks to the development of the Western powers that settled in China at that time. During the Japanese invasions of the Second World War, coal mines were further developed.From 1949 onwards, the Communists continued the industrialization of Taiyuan along with that of other cities in Shanxi Province. There was a powerful metallurgical industry in the 1960 s. In addition to the steel mills, there are also mechanical constructions and an important chemical sector.TodayThe capital of Shanxi Province resembles other Chinese industrial cities, with vast avenues and huge buildings for workers and a horizon with many stacks of factories emerging from a fog of pollution.In general, we stop in Taiyuan only on the occasion of a trip between Xi 'an and Datong, and above all to visit the surrounding temples like Jinci and Xuanzhongsi of the sect Pure, very powerful in Japan. Nevertheless, the provincial museum deserves a good visit…