​ Lv Liang

Lvliang City

North Wudang Mountain

The Ancient Qikou Town

Xuanzhong Temple

Fenjiu Group

Lvliang City, named after the mountain running through it, is located on the west side of the central part of Shanxi Province in China. It is adjacent to Taiyuan City and Jinzhong City in the east, looks to Shaanxi Province across the Yellow River in the west and borders Linfen City and Xinzhou City in the south and north. Lvliang has 1 district, 2 county- level cities and 10 counties, with a population of 3.88 million and an area of 21,000 square kilometers.

Lvliang sits on the Loess Plateau in western Shanxi. Its territory falls entirely into the Yellow River Basin. With gullies and mountains undulating all over, its mountainous and semi- mountainous area accounts for 91.8% of the total area. With an altitude of 1,000- 2,000 meters, the city has a forest coverage rate of 33.2%. Lvliang features a temperate continental monsoon climate, sufficient sunlight, an average annual temperature of about 9℃, an average annual rainfall of 546 mm, and a frost- free period of 133- 178 days.

Lvliang has a long history. There have been people living here since the Paleolithic Age. The site of Paleolithic Age unearthed in Fanjiazhuang Village, Jiaocheng County, and the Dragon- patterned Gong (Ancient Wine Vessel) of Shang and Zhou Dynasties unearthed in Shilou County are proofs that Lvliang is one of the consequential birthplaces of Chinese civilization.

Lvliang is a place that proudly gathers talents and prominent figures. They include Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty; Di Qing, a famous general in the Song Dynasty; Zhang Minjue, Father of the World Test Tube Babies; Ma Feng, a representative of the famous Potato School writers; Ji Chaozhu, former Deputy Secretary- General of the United Nations; Liu Zhenmin, the incumbent Deputy Secretary- General of the United Nations and Jia Zhangke, a famed director. Lvliang people are simple, honest, industrious and kind. The ancient civilization and special geographical environment of the Loess Plateau have cultivated a varied and unique folk culture in Lvliang which gives birth many local dramas such as Xiaoyi Shadow Puppet, Puppet Show, Wanwanqiang (Tunes of Small Copper Bowls), and a number of national intangible cultural heritages such as Zhongyang Paper- cut, Liulin Panzi (a lantern festival gala), and Linxian Yangko.

In 2006, six projects including the Zhongyang Paper- cut, Xiaoyi Shadow Puppet and Linxian Daoqing Opera were among the first to be listed as China's national intangible cultural heritage. In 2008, Fenyang Yangko, Linxian Yangko, Liulin Panzi and three other items were listed as national intangible cultural heritage. In 2009, the Zhongyang Paper- cut as an important part of Chinese paper- cut, was included in the World Heritage List by UNESCO. In 2014, Lishi Tanchang (a kind of musical instrument accompanied singing), Lanxian Dough Modelling and Linxian Suona Horn were identified as the national intangible cultural heritage. As of 2018, Lvliang has 1 world-class, 15 national, 53 provincial, 50 municipal-level representative items on the intangible cultural heritage list along with 14 national, 53 provincial, 150 municipal-level representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritage projects.

"People say that Shanxi has beautiful scenery, and on your right hand is Lvliang." These are popular words to denote the beauty of Lvliang which is rich in tourism resources. Lvliang is home to 5,750 immovable cultural relics, 39 national key cultural relics and 10 national 4A tourist attractions. Boutique scenic spots are represented by the national scenic spots of North Wudang Mountain in Fangshan County, the Ancient Qikou Town in Linxian, the Xinghuacun Village that brews the famous Fenjiu in Fenyang City and Jiajiazhuang Village in Fenyang City, the most beautiful ecological tourist village in China.

Lvliang City has been named as one of the Top Ten Red Tourist Destinations in China and is among the first batch of the "Top Ten Red Landmarks in China." At the 2017 Asian Tourism Industry Annual Conference, Lvliang won the "Most Popular Destination -  Red Coral Award."

Lvliang is rich in resources and has proven mineral resources of more than 40 kinds, especially coal, iron and aluminum are of massive reserve and high grade. Lvliang's agricultural specialty products feature high quality and large quantity. It is a well- known production base for liquor, red dates, walnuts, honey, sea buckthorn, edible fungi and coarse cereals. Fenjiu and Zhuyeqing are the two major liquor brands well- known in China and abroad. In 2019, the Twentieth Session Spirits Selection by Concours Mondial de Bruxelles  successfully held in Lvliang, Fenyang City. The Rose Essence Fenjiu produced in Lvliang won the Grand Prix. Fenjiu Group was the only enterprise in Shanxi Province that won the Grand Prix.

Lvliang's coal- bearing area amounts to 11,400 square kilometers, accounting for 54.3% of the total area. It has a reserve of more than 42 billion tons. Known as the "national treasure", the #4 coking coal's reserves amount to 11.4 billion tons. Iron ore reserve and recoverable bauxite reserve are 1.32 billion and 649 million tons respectively.

After Lvliang was upgraded from a district  to a city in 2004, it picked up pace of development. Transportation facilities have been improved significantly. Lvliang Dawu Airport has opened flights to 16 cities including Beijing, Shanghai,Guangzhou, Xi'an, Lanzhou, Chengdu, Dalian, Chongqing, Tianjin and Haikou.Eighteen pairs of passenger trains headed to more than 50 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang and Urumqi pass and stop at Lvliang Railway Station every day. The more than 550 kilometer expressway highlights Lvliang's geographical advantage of connecting east and west and south and north.

Lvliang is an emerging regional central city on the margins of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Mongolia. It meets the eastern and western parts of China. Qingdao- Yinchuan and Xizong (Shahukou- Liubao) Expressway run east and west. The Dawu Airport builds an air corridor, transporting 450,000 passengers yearly. The Taiyuan- Zhongwei- Yinchuan Railway traverses from east to west as one of the main arteries of transportation of the "Silk Road." Inter- city trains make it convenient to travel from Lvliang to Taiyuan. The Taiyuan- Xi'an High Speed Railway under planning will pass by Lvliang. The 7 trunk railway lines in the city cover a mileage of 724 kilometers. A comprehensive and dimensional transportation network is being shaped, making it an important regional transportation hub city in the country.

Lvliang practices green development. The forest area has reached 62.8% of the total area. At the China Forum on International Ecological Competitiveness 2019, Lvliang was awarded the most ecologically competitive city. Nursing aides from Lvliang are known as hard- working, trustworthy and professional with employment reaching out to more than 20 large and medium sized cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou, and Taiyuan. Lvliang is keen in implementing the new development concept, and the supply- side structural reform. In terms of primary industry, red dates, walnuts, coarse cereals, potatoes, edible fungi, animal husbandry and other special agricultural industries have developed fast. The "One County One Industry"  is taking shape. In terms of secondary industry, traditional industries such as coal coke are positioned to support the fast developing emerging industries (new materials, liquor, big data, energy conservation and environmental protection and modern agriculture). The integration of coal, electricity, aluminum and magnesium has been elevated to the development strategy of Shanxi. In terms of the tertiary industry, service industries such as tourism, modern logistics, modern finance and e- commerce are booming.

"Lvliang-- a Picturesque City." Welcome to the open, inclusive, trustworthy and friendly Lvliang!