Taiyuan overview 太原

About Taiyuan

The museum introduces the region's bronzes, sculpture and merchant culture; Chunyang Palace supplies a much smaller encounter with courtyards and Daoist architecture near Wuyi Square. Jinci and the mountain grottoes lie outside this central-city visit. Keep those excursions separate so that a first day in Taiyuan leaves time to examine objects and buildings rather than continually cross the city.

Taiyuan is an ancient city with more than 2,500 years of urban history, dating back to 497 BC, when the first city of Jinyang was built in the southern Jinyuan district by Dong Anyu (董安于), a steward of the Jin official Zhao Jianzi (赵鞅). Taiyuan later served as the capital or secondary capital of several states and dynasties, including Zhao, Former Qin, Eastern Wei, Northern Qi and the Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han and Northern Han, and during the Tang and Five Dynasties it was elevated to northern capital, known as Beidu or Beijing.

It lies roughly in the centre of Shanxi province, with the Fen River flowing through the city; the city's name, meaning 'great plain', refers to the point where the river leaves the mountains and enters open flatland. Historically it was also known as Bingzhou, Jinyang and Longcheng ('City of the Dragon').

Chunyang Palace (纯阳宫), also known as Lü Zu Temple (吕祖庙), was founded early in the Yuan dynasty and was expanded in 1597 by the Ming princes Zhu Xinyang (朱新扬) and Zhu Bangzuo (朱邦祚), with further work added during the Qing Qianlong era (乾隆). Combining temple and garden styles, it covers 11,000 square metres across five courtyards running south to north, and today houses the Shanxi Provincial Art Museum, which holds art exhibitions.

What to look for

• Shanxi Museum's provincial collections beside the Fen River.
• Chunyang Palace's sequence of Daoist courtyards near Wuyi Square.

The surrounding area

Provincial city base for Jinci, museums and the Zhonglou Street food-and-walking district.

Location & getting there

Getting to Taiyuan

For a museum-led city visit, start at Shanxi Museum, 13 Binhe West Road, then arrange a separate transfer across the city to the Wuyi Square area.

• Chunyang Palace is at 1 Qifeng Street, on the northwest side of Wuyi Square.