Shanxi Province


山西 (Shanxi) is a province in northwestern China, the name means 'west of the mountains' and refers to its location west of the Taihang Mountains. It is a plateau partly bounded by mountain ranges, the Taihang Mountains to the east and the Lüliang Mountains to the west. In the center is a series of valleys formed by the Fen and Qin river and their tributaries. Both run north-to-south through the province, and drain much of its area to the Yellow river. The highest mountain is Wutai Shan (3,058 m asl) in the northwest. About a third of China's coal deposits are located here, so the province is a leading producer of coal.

The province has an abundance of heritage sites, there are three sites listed on the UNESCO WHL.

There is a province called Shaanxi Province, which is located to the southwest and borders Shanxi. The names are identical in the transliteration except for the double a, which inherits the danger that they are mixed up.