Shuozhou is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi province, China, bordering Inner Mongolia to the northwest. It is situated along the upper reaches of the Fen River. The prefecture as a whole has an area of about 10,662 km2 (4,117 sq mi) and, in 2010, a population of about 1.71 million.[2]
The site of Shuozhou was the ancient Chinese frontier town of Mayi (马邑),[4] which was used as a trading post between China and the Xiongnu nomads of the eastern Eurasian steppe.
In 201BC, the founder of the Han dynastyLiu Bang (posthumously known as Emperor Gaozu or the "High Ancestor") moved Han Xin from his fief around Yuzhou in Henan to Mayi, where he was attacked by the Xiongnu. Finding himself distrusted by the Han emperor, Han Xin allied with the Xiongnu instead and joined them on their raids against China until his death in battle in 196BC. Mayi was subsequently the capital of Dai Prefecture and the scene of an attempted ambush of the Xiongnu by Chinese troops in 133BC.
During the chaos between the fall of the Sui and rise of the Tang, Mayi was the base of the would-be emperor Liu Wuzhou.
Administrative divisions
The seat of government is in Shuocheng District, the urban core of the city.
Shuozhou has a continental, monsoon-influenced semi-arid climate (KöppenBSk),[5] with cold, very dry, and somewhat long winters, and warm, somewhat humid summers. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −9.8 °C (14.4 °F) in January to 21.9 °C (71.4 °F) in July, and the annual mean is 7.42 °C (45.4 °F). Typifying the influence of the East Asian Monsoon, over three-fourths of the annual 399 millimetres (15.7 in) of precipitation occurs from June to September.
Climate data for Shuozhou, elevation 1,115 m (3,658 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010)
Western tourists rarely come to this area of China, but there are some attractions. The Yingxian Tower, built in 1056 during the Liao Dynasty, is one of the main sites of the region. It was built entirely of wood, without using nails, and serves as a museum of calligraphy. There are also some paleolithic ruins, and ancient gravesites from the Dongyi people.
^Anecdotes about Spirits and Immortals, Vol. II, Waiwen Chubanshe, 2004, p. 749. (in Chinese)& (in English)
^Peel, M. C., Finlayson, B. L., and McMahon, T. A.: Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 11, 1633-1644, doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007, 2007.