Xiangning County
Xiangning County (simplified Chinese: 乡宁县; traditional Chinese: 鄉寧縣; pinyin: Xiāngníng Xiàn; lit. 'countryside peace') is a county in the southwest of Shanxi province, China, bordering Shaanxi province across the Yellow River to the west.[1] It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Linfen.[1][2] The county spans an area of 2,029 square kilometres (783 sq mi),[2] and is home to a population of 240,000 people as of 2013.[1] HistoryDuring the Spring and Autumn period, Marquis E of Jin lived in what is now present-day Xiangning County.[2] In the Warring States period, the area had been occupied by both the Han and Zhao states.[2] During the Northern Wei Dynasty, the area was initially named Changping (Chinese: 昌平), and was later changed to Pingchang (Chinese: 平昌).[2] Eventually, the name was changed to Changning (simplified Chinese: 昌宁; traditional Chinese: 昌寧), but in 923 was changed to Xiangning (simplified Chinese: 乡宁; traditional Chinese: 鄉寧), its present-day name.[2] From 1958 to 1961, Xiangning County was briefly merged with neighboring Ji County.[2] GeographyThe county is located in the Lüliang Mountains of the Loess Plateau, and has a largely hilly terrain with an average elevation of about 900 metres (3,000 ft).[1] The county's highest point is Gaotian Mountain (Chinese: 高天山), which reaches 1,820.5 metres (5,973 ft) in altitude; the county's lowest point is along the banks of the Yellow River, at 385.1 metres (1,263 ft) in altitude.[2] 38.2% of the county is forested.[2] Climate
Administrative divisionsXiangning County is divided into five towns and five townships.[5] These are then divided into 182 village-level divisions.[2] The county's five towns are Changning , Guanghua , Taitou , Guantou , and Xibo .[5] The county's five townships are Shuanghe Township , Guanwangmiao Township , Weizhuang Township , Xijiaokou Township , and Zaoling Township .[5] EconomyThe county is home to a large coal field, which covers 1,600 square kilometres (620 sq mi) of the county's area.[2] Said coal field is estimated to have 15.3 billion tons of coal in reserve.[2] Xiangning also has a number of tourist sights, such as the Xiangning Thousand Buddha Cave , Yunqiu Mountain (simplified Chinese: 云丘山; traditional Chinese: 雲丘山), and a number of temples and pagodas.[2] Major agricultural products from Xiangning include Zanthoxylum, apples, walnuts, Chinese yams, Elaeagnus mollis , and wine.[2] TransportationNational Highway 209 and National Highway 309 both run through the county, as well as three provincial highways.[2] ReferencesWikimedia Commons has media related to Xiangning County. Look up Xiangning in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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