Shanxi Province, situated west of Mt. Taihang, in the eastern part of the loess plateau and the middle reaches of the Huanghe River (Yellow River) , Shanxi Province covers an area of over 150,000 square kilometres and has a population of 33.35 million (2006) composed of Han, Hui, Mongolian, Manchu and other nationalities. Taiyuan is the provincial capital.

Shanxi was jinyang in ancient times. During the Spring and Autumn Period it was the Kingdom of Jin (770 B.C.-476 B.C.), the Qin Dynasty (221 B.C.-207 B.C.), Taiyuan Prefecture, in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Hedong Dao (Dao was equivalent to today's province). It was in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) that the place became to be known as Shanxin Province. Shanxin is one of the cradles of Chinese civilization. As the legend goes, kings Yao, Shun and Yu had their capitals in southern Shanxi. Ruins of the middle period excavated in Dingcun Village in southern Shanxin show that what has come to be know as "Dingcun Man" lived there hundreds of thousands of years ago. Now Shanxi has become one of the major heavy industrial bases and the biggest coal mining area in China.

In Shanxin Province one can get a glimpse of Chinese gardening,architecture, sculpture, carving and other arts. The statues of the maids of the Song Dynasty (960-1280) in Jinci Temple of Taiyaun are considered masterpieces of ancient Chinese sculptures. These statues together with the ageless cypresses of the Zhou Dynasty (1112 B.C - 221 B.C.) and gurgling Nanlao Spring (Spring-for-ever-young), are regarded as the three most enchanting scenes of Jinci Temple.

In Taiyuan there are other tourist attractions such as Twin Pagodas Monastery, Chongshan (Worshipping Goodness) Monastery, grottoes of Mt. Tianlong (Celestial Dragon), Xuankong Monastery, Shuanglin Monastery and the provincial museum.

Yungang Grottoes of Datong are one of the three treasure troves of art in China. Fifty-three grottoes remain in which there are 51,000 statues. The biggest is 17 meters high and the smallest, a few centimeters. The stone images of these grottoes are impressive, lively and fascinating. Yungang Grottoes have even won world-wide fame. Other scenic spots and places of historical interest in Datong include Huayan Temple, Shanhua Monastery, the Nine-dragon Screen, Xuankong Monastery and the wooden tower of Yingxian County.