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| Introduction |
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Xinzhou is seated in the central northern part of Shanxi Province. It borders Datong and Shuozhou to the north, Taiyuan (the provincial capital of Shanxi) to the south, Hebei Province to the east, and faces Shaanxi Province and Inner Mongolia across the Yellow River. Covering an area of 25,472 sq km, it the largest city in Shanxi. Hilly and mountainous areas account for over one half of the city’s area. The Yellow River, the Fenhe River and the Sanggan River traverse the city. The city enjoys a temperate continental monsoon climate. The frost period may last from mid-October to late March.
The transportation in the city is quite convenient. The Beijing-Taiyuan Highway, the North Tongpu Railway (which extends to Datong, Shuozhou, Ningwu and Taiyuan) and the Datong-Yuncheng Railway run through the city, making it an important transport point from South China to North China. The city is merely 2-4 hours’ drive to Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province by the Xinzhou-Wutaishan Highway and the Xinzhou-Hequ Highway.
Xinzhou enjoys rich mineral resources, such as coal, iron, aluminum, gold and copper. The coal reserves, mainly distributed in Ningwu, Hequ and Wutai Coal Field, are about 116 billion tons, accounting for 48.2% of Shanxi’s total. The titanium reserves exceed 1.6 million tons, accounting for 54.1% of Shanxi’s total, while gold reserves top 18,508 kg, accounting for 73.9% of Shanxi’s total.
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| Economic Features |
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Xinzhou's economy is the smallest among the 11 prefecture-level cities in Shanxi Province in terms of GDP in 2009. The city's GDP grew 18.7% year on year to RMB 43.54 billion. The value-added output from primary industry, secondary industry and tertiary industry reached RMB 4.72 billion, RMB 19.51 billion and RMB 19.32 billion, comprising 10.8%, 44.8% and 44.4% of the city's GDP, respectively.
In 2010, the value-added industrial output from the enterprises with designated size and above totaled RMB 16.53 billion, with an increase of 42% year on year. The city's industrial sector is dominated by heavy industry. In 2010, the value-added industrial output from heavy industry was RMB 16.27 billion, with an increase of 42.4% from the previous year, while that from light industry stood at RMB 260 million, with a growth of 29.1% year on year. The value-added industrial output from heavy industry and light industry accounted for 98.4% and 1.6% of the city's total, respectively.
Coal mining and dressing, metallurgy, electricity and heat production and supply, and equipment manufacturing constitute the pillar industries in the city. The sales revenue from these industries totaled RMB 29.65 billion, making up over 78.45% of that of the city.
Though Xinzhou has no large companies, it has attracted leading domestic companies such as Shenhua Group, China Huaneng Group and China Huadian Corp to set up branch in the city. Shenhua Group, the largest listed coal miner in China, invested RMB 1.4 billion into Baode Power Plant in Baode County of Xinzhou. The plant opened in 2006. It has an annual electricity generation capacity of 1.4 billion kilowatts.
The tourism sector maintained fast growth. In 2010, Xinzhou attracted over 10.37 million domestic tourists, bringing in RMB 10.63 million in income, 21.2% more than in the previous year.
In 2010, the foreign trade value in the city increased 24.4% year on year to US$126.54 million, consisting of export value of US$125.32 million and import value of US$1.22 million. Coal, iron, construction materials, electronic and mechanical products, and ceramics are the major export products from the city. The E.U., the U.S., Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong are the major foreign partners of Xinzhou.
In 2010, the city has approved one new foreign invested projects, while the utilized FDI in the city reached US$30,000.
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| Cultural Highlights |
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Xinzhou’s history stretches back to AD215 during the Eastern Han Dynasty, when the administration was set up in the territory. The city was called “the key of North Shanxi” in ancient times. The city is rich in traditional culture, and is known as the “home of wrestling” and the “ocean of folk songs”. In 2000, Xinzhou was promoted to be a prefecture-city by the State Council.
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| Tourist Attraction |
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Xinzhou is rich in tourism resources, such as Wutai Mountain, Foguang Temple and Lingtong Temple. Lying at the northeast corner of Wutai County, Wutai Mountain is one of the four sacred Chinese mountains famous in the Buddhist religion. Covering an area of 2,837 sq km, Wutai Mountain has peculiar-shaped cliffs and is home to ancient pine and cypress trees as well as splendid pavilions and halls. Lingtong Temple, situated between Tayuan Temple and Bodhisattva Temple, is the largest temple in the Wutai Mountains. Foguang Temple, a structure built during the Tang Dynasty (AD618-907), is situated 30 kilometers from Tai-huai County. The west-facing temple was built in conformity with the shape of the mountain.
Xinzhou has diverse local snacks, such as Liang Fen (a kind of food made of potato powder or rice), Mutton Soup, Vegetable Pancake and Niu Yao (a kind of local snack made of flour).
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