Shanxi

Shanxi or Shansi (shän`shē`), province (1994 est. pop. 29,910,000), c.60,000 sq mi (155,400 sq km), NE China. The capital is Taiyuan. It is bounded on the west and the south by the Huang He (Yellow River) and on the north by Inner Mongolia. Much of Shanxi is a high plateau region. The soil is fertile loess, but scant rainfall and widespread erosion hamper the raising of sufficient food, which occasionally leads to famine. Reforestation and irrigation projects have been instituted. The main food crops are winter wheat, corn, sorghum, soybeans, millet, barley, and fruit. Cotton, tobacco, and grapes are grown as commercial crops. Livestock is raised in the northern grazing areas, and wool and hides are exported. Shanxi has rich and extensive coal and iron deposits; it supplies as much as one quarter of China's coal. Large deposits of titanium and vanadium are also found. A salt lake in the southwestern part of the province is one of China's major inland sources of salt. The province also has some heavy industry. There is a satellite launch center in NW Shanxi. The best communication system of the province is its rail network with connections to central and N China. There are extensive road networks centered in Taiyuan, Datong, Changzhi, Linfen, and Houma. The Fen River (the longest) is partly navigable; it is icebound in winter. From 1911 until the Communist takeover in 1949, a warlord, Yen Xi-shan, ruled Shanxi as an almost independent province; he made notable internal improvements and brought a degree of prosperity. Shanxi's strategic position in the northeast made it a center of Communist activity in the 1940s.

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Shanxi

 or Shan-hsi conventional Shansi

Province (pop., 2002 est.: 32,940,000), northern China. It is bordered by Hebei, Henan, and Shaanxi provinces and Inner Mongolia. It has an area of 60,700 sq mi (157,100 sq km). The capital is Taiyuan. Largely a vast plateau covered by great loess deposits, it was the home of early Chinese agriculture. Most of the people are Han Chinese; other ethnic groups include Hui (Chinese Muslims), Mongols, and Manchus. Since ancient times it has been an integral part of the various northern kingdoms of China, serving as a buffer against invaders from the north and as a key trade route. It was one of the major avenues by which Buddhism came to China from India. After the overthrow of the Qing dynasty in 1911–12, the warlord Yan Xishan ruled as absolute dictator until the end of World War II. Japan occupied part of the province during the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45). Communist forces assumed control of Shanxi in 1949. It has vast reserves of coal and iron and the largest titanium and vanadium deposits in China and is a major producer of cotton.

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Shanxi, Shansi

a province of N China: China's richest coal reserves and much heavy industry. Capital: Taiyuan. Pop.: 33 140 000 (2003 est.). Area: 157 099 sq. km (60 656 sq. miles)