Jinzhong (simplified Chinese: 晋中; traditional Chinese: 晉中; pinyin: Jìnzhōng) is a prefecture-level city with 3,249,425 inhabitants at the 2010 census in east central Shanxi province of the People's Republic of China.
Before 1999, what is now Jinzhong was Jinzhong Prefecture, with its capital at the county-level city of Yuci (Chinese: 榆次; pinyin: Yúcì; Wade–Giles: Yu-tz'u). In 1999, Jinzhong Prefecture became Jinzhong Prefecture-level City, and Yuci County-level City became Yuci District (a county-level district). Yuci district is now part of Taiyuan built up area home to 3,848,151 inhabitants in 2010.
Linfen (simplified Chinese: 临汾; traditional Chinese: 臨汾; pinyin: Línfén) is a prefecture-level city in southern Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It is situated along the banks of the Fen River. It has an area of 20,275 square kilometres (7,828 sq mi) and according to the 2010 Census, a population of 4,316,612 inhabitants of which 944,050 live in the built-up (or metro) area made up of Yaodu urban district. It was known as Pingyang (平阳) during the Spring and Autumn Period. In 2006, New York based Blacksmith Institute listed Linfen as one of the ten most polluted cities in the world.
Prior to 1978, Linfen was famous for its spring water, greenery and rich agriculture and therefore nicknamed "The Modern Fruit and Flower Town". Since then it has been developing into a main industrial center for coal mining, which has been seriously damaging the city's environment, air quality, farming, health and its past status as a green village.
Taiyuan (Chinese: 太原; pinyin: Tàiyuán [tʰaɪ̂ɥɛ̌n], also known as Bing (并), Jinyang (晋阳)) is the capital and largest city of North China's Shanxi province.[2] At the 2010 census, it had a total population of 4,201,591 inhabitants on 6,959 km2 (2,687 sq mi), from whom 3,212,500 are urban on 1,460 km2 (560 sq mi). The name of the city literally means "Great Plains", referring to the location where the Fen River leaves the mountains. The city is located at the centre of the province with an East-West span of 144 km and a North-South span of 107 km.
Immediate attention
