Shanxi

“Discover the Beauty of Shanxi”, Shanxi Cultural Tourism Video Exhibition

This exhibition, which consists of four sections, i.e. “Shanxi Tourism Promotional Video”, “Chief Experience Officer”, “Shanxi Intangible Cultural Heritage” and “Pingyao Ancient City”, is designed to display the best of Shanxi’s scenery from different perspectives. Join us in discovering the Beauty of Shanxi.

Shanxi is like a leaf falling from south to north on the map of China. The majestic Taihang Mountains that stretch 800 li (400 km) in the eastern part of Shanxi marks the boundary between the Loess Plateau and the North China Plain. To the west of Shanxi is the Shanxi-Shaanxi Grand Canyon, which splits the Loess Plateau from north to south. The Yellow River surges onward like ten thousand horses galloping. Covered with precipitous mountains and walled by choppy rivers, Shanxi holds a strategic position, becoming a magical land, and has nurtured the great Chinese civilization.

Pingyao Ancient City

Pingyao Ancient City is located in Pingyao County, Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province, which is an outstanding example of ancient Chinese cities in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The promotional films, The Ancient City of the East and Pingyao in China, show people an extraordinary and complete picture of cultural, social, economic and religious development.

Intangible Cultural Heritage in Shanxi

Shanxi is the epitome of China’s five thousand years of civilization. As the birthplace of Chinese civilization, Shanxi has rich historical sites and profound cultural heritage. The vast intangible cultural heritage is the crystallization of the wisdom of the working people in Shanxi for generations.

Lihou Tiger is a traditional handicraft originating in Licheng County, Shanxi Province. It originated from a folk custom that took the tiger as its totem in the Shang and Zhou dynasties. After 3,000 years of historical evolution, it has been gradually improved and finalized in a unique present-day shape that combines stories, straw plaited articles, embroidery, paper-cutting, and calligraphy and painting. Lihou Tiger, known as the first tiger in China, embodies the good wishes of the people to pray for good luck and ward off evil.

Shanxi dough figurines are a kind of art made of steamed flour. They are hand-made with fresh soda ash, with no additives, and painted with food coloring, thus they can be retained for a long time. Dough figurines are necessary for weddings and funerals, festivals, sacrifices and prayers in Shanxi.

Polished lacquerware is a kind of advanced paint utensil with the nature of craft. It is one of the local traditional handicrafts in Pingyao, Shanxi, which gets its name from the practice of creating luster by the palm. With the characteristics of simple, elegant and glittery appearance, exquisite painting, delicate and smooth feel, environmental friendliness, nontoxicity, insect resistance, heat resistance, moisture proofness, and durability, it is reputed as a fine piece of art.

Known as Changzhi Duihua, Shangdang Duijin is a unique traditional folk handicraft in Changzhi (formerly known as Shangdang) City, Shanxi Province. Among these handicrafts, characters and animals are vivid, and flowers are lifelike and attractive. Silk and brocade are used to interpret traditional paintings, adding mystery to the folk craft. Shangdang Duijin is also known as three-dimensional Chinese painting.

Chief Experience Officer

From the perspective of Rees, a young British man, the program vividly tells the story of Shanxi in its development process. We will take you into different places in Shanxi, including Taiyuan, Datong, Jinzhong, Linfen, Yangquan and Shuozhou to bring you an immersive experience of Shanxi and show you a different Shanxi.

Fenhe Park: This is a beautiful park which has been long managed, carefully designed and constantly improved, where everyone can enjoy his own way of life.

Daylilies·Datong: The daylilies grown outside the Yanmen Pass and under the volcanoes can help villagers get rich and promote rural revitalization. What’s the big difference behind the little daylilies?

“Green” Power Plant: There are no workers in the power plant here. Outside the plant is planted with fruit trees. Carbon dioxide can also be used in beverage production. Do you want to know the reason? Let’s follow Rees to experience the green upgrading of thermal power enterprises under the goal of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.

Intelligence Technology: Now we can experience the new mode of “Coking with One Click” in the centralized control center without entering the coke oven. With 5G+ Wisdom, we can achieve higher safety, efficiency, and intelligence.

Building the Dream of the Future with Cabins: We can experience the re-upgrading of Shanxi manufacturing through the innovation-driven development of nucleic acid testing cabins, zero-energy cabins, and the new material aerogel.

Herding Sheep beyond the Great Wall: The desert has become an oasis and the Gobi a meadow. As an ecologically friendly county, Youyu has had new changes. The emergence of new technologies has given rise to the hope of getting rich. Let’s experience the green industry outside the frontier and feel the vitality of a “new” Youyu.

Discover The Beauty of Shanxi Photography Exhibition

【Preface】

On a map of China, Shanxi resembles a leaf lying in a south-north direction. Towering on its eastern border are the magnificent Taihang Mountains that separate the Loess Plateau from the North China Plain. Lying on its west is the Shanxi-Shaanxi Grand Canyon that cleaves open the Loess Plateau from the north to the south, clearing the way for the Yellow River to surge ahead. These are the mountains and rivers that have created this marvelous land and nurtured the great Chinese civilization.

[Chapter I] Yellow River, Great Wall, and Taihang Mountains

The Yellow River, the Great Wall and the Taihang Mountains are symbols of Chinese civilization and brand names of Beautiful China. Shanxi is home to the Yellow River, which carries China’s thousands of years of history. Shanxi is home to a major section of the Great Wall, and nurtures the majestic Taihang Mountains that represent the spirit and backbone of the Chinese nation. When this ancient province mixes with new thoughts and ideas, China’s 5,000-year old civilization is sure to burst forth with an unprecedented vitality.

Hukou Waterfall

Qiankun River Bend

Dancing Silver Snake among Snowing Mountains

Taihang Water Valley

Taihang Genting

Wangmang Mountain

Yanmen Pass

In North-west

Taihang Phoenix Valley

Yanmen Fortress

[Chapter II] Traditional handicrafts

Shanxi, as the cradle and epitome of China’s time-honored civilization, boasts rich historical sites and profound traditional culture. Myriad intangible cultural heritages in Shanxi manifest the wisdom of the people who have labored on this land for generation after generation.

The Lihou Tiger is a traditional handicraft originating in Licheng County. Dating back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties when tigers were a folk totem, the Lihou Tiger is known as the “First Tiger in China”. This figurine is artwork made of dough that is kneaded into various shapes then steamed. The hand-polished lacquer is a traditional artistry in Shanxi’s PingYao. Known as a 3D traditional Chinese painting, the layered brocade of Shangdang illustrates traditional paintings with silk and brocade, adding a touch of mystery to this folk art.

Loyal to their Duties

Qiao’s Courtyard

[Chapter III] World heritages

Shanxi has three world heritages. The ancient city of Ping Yao, first built in the Western Zhou Dynasty, has a history of more than 2,700 years. The Yungang Grottoes are a monument left by the Northern Wei Dynasty whose capital was located in the province. Mount Wutai boasts a collection of numerous historical sites left from each dynasty since Northern Wei, integrating the essences of Tibetan Buddhism, Chinese Buddhism, and folk cultures.

Shanxi is also like a museum of ancient Chinese architecture, hosting a full spectrum of buildings from the former times, including temples, civil residences, ancient cities, the Great Wall, theatrical stages, bridges… Shanxi has everything you could possibly want!