Driving in Taiyuan – a Chinese provincial capital you probably haven't heard of – 4K HDR

Driving in Taiyuan – a Chinese provincial capital you probably haven't heard of Taiyuan City, referred to as "Bing", known as Jinyang in ancient times, also known as Bingzhou and Longcheng, is a prefecture-level city under the jurisdiction of Shanxi Province, a provincial capital, and a large city of type I. It is an important central city in the central region approved by the State Council and a key energy and heavy chemical industrial base. It is located in the central part of Shanxi Province and the northern part of the Jinzhong Basin, with a total area of 6,988 square kilometers. As of the end of 2024, the permanent population of Taiyuan City was 5.5147 million, an increase from 5.4544 million at the end of 2023. As of the end of 2023, Taiyuan City has jurisdiction over 10 county-level administrative divisions, including 6 districts (Xiaodian, Yingze, Xinghualing, Jiancaoping, Wanbailin, Jinyuan), 3 counties (Qingxu, Yangqu, Loufan) and 1 county-level city (Gujiao), with the Municipal People's Government stationed in Xinghualing District. Taiyuan City is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province, an innovation demonstration area for the national sustainable development agenda, an important military and cultural town in northern China, a world city of Shanxi merchants, and one of China's important energy and heavy industry bases. It is also a national excellent tourist city and a national garden city. Taiyuan has successfully held many important large-scale events, such as the Second National Youth Games, Central China Expo, China TV Huading Awards, the 4th National Reading Conference (April 2025) and the 2025 CCTV Spring Festival Opera Gala (recorded in Taiyuan Ancient City). In terms of honors, on August 13, 2019, Taiyuan was selected as a pilot city for the construction of a national urban medical complex; on October 31, 2019, it was selected into the list of the first batch of 5G commercial cities; on July 30, 2021, the Ministry of Transport named it a demonstration city for the construction of a national bus city; in June 2025, Taiyuan, as part of the Jinzhong National Cultural and Ecological Reserve, became the first and only provincial capital city in China to be selected as a national cultural and ecological reserve. In addition, the Jinci-Tianlong Mountain Scenic Area successfully created a national 5A-level tourist attraction in 2024, which has three "golden signs" of "national cultural relic protection unit, national first-class museum and national 5A-level scenic area". Taiyuan is a famous national historical and cultural city with a history of more than 2,000 years as an ancient capital. It belongs to a warm temperate continental monsoon climate, with long, dry and cold winters, hot and humid summers, short and windy springs and autumns, and distinct dry and wet seasons. Surrounded by mountains on three sides, Taiyuan is traversed by the Fen River, the second largest tributary of the Yellow River, from north to south, and has been known as "Splendid Taiyuan City" since ancient times. It boasts rich intangible cultural heritage resources, including Jin Opera, old mature vinegar, lotus falling and paper-cutting, which have been passed down from generation to generation and are full of vitality. In 2025, a series of cultural activities were held in Taiyuan, such as the 2nd Jin Opera Art Festival, the "Digital Culture and Tourism Brand Innovation Carnival" and the immersive cultural experience project "Taiyuan is Destined for You", which further highlighted the city's cultural charm. In terms of economic development, Taiyuan has maintained a stable development trend in recent years, accelerating the transformation and upgrading of the industrial structure while relying on its advantages in the energy and heavy chemical industry. In 2022, Taiyuan's GDP reached 557.117 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.3%, with a per capita GDP of 102,922 yuan; in 2023, the GDP was 549.484 billion yuan; in 2024, the GDP was 541.887 billion yuan. In 2025, Taiyuan's industrial development showed strong vitality. Enterprises such as Taigang Stainless Steel and Taiyuan Heavy Industry made remarkable achievements in technological innovation: Taigang launched the world's first precision foil for high-temperature superconducting substrates and stainless steel for offshore photovoltaic brackets; Taiyuan Heavy Industry developed and manufactured a 60-meganewton leveler, setting a global record. At the same time, Taiyuan is vigorously developing emerging industries such as digital culture and tourism, micro-short drama industry, and intelligent manufacturing, promoting high-quality economic development. #Shanxi #Taiyuan #Travel