TaiyuanEnglish

Taiyuan is in the middle belt of tourist routes and is rich in ecological tourist resources, special humanity landscapes and lots of historic and cultural relics. There are 5 key rotective sites of the nation- al-grade historic relics, 17 key protective sites of the provincial- grade historic relics, 67 key sites of the municipal- grade historic relics in the city. The beautiful Fenhe Park extends through the city. Jinci Temple, dated from "Jian Tong Feng Di" (The Title of Tang was Conferred on His Younger Brother by Cheng King), was the largest mperial garden in China, and was also named as a splendid pearl of ancient Chinese culture. In the Holy Mother Hall in Jinci Temple, Song dynasty maiden servant statues with different manners, as vivid as life, enjoy high reputation at home and abroad. The lofty Twin Pagodas of Yongzuo Temple, built in Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), become the models in China s twin- pagodas architecture and also the sign of Taiyuan. Dragon Mountain Grottoes are the largest Taoist grottoes in China. Tianlong Mountain Grottoes, the Buddhist grottoes since the Eastern Wei (534- 550) and the Five Dynasties (907-960), was praised the best in the world by experts. The historic and cultural relics here are too numerous to enumerate, such as the famous buddhist monastery-Chongshan Monastery, early built in the later Sui Dynasty (581 -618) and the early Tang Dynasty (618-907), the Chunyang Taoist Palace of Lu Dongbin, the Juewei Hill and Duo Fuci Temple, etc. Outside Taiyuan City, in its north there are the world cultural relics of Yungang Grottoes and famous Buddhis Mountain - Wutai Mountain, known to all the world. In its south, there are such world cultural heritages as Pingyao Ancient City and Guashan Mountain and Hukou Waterfall on the Yellow River. In its west,' there are the national- grade natural protection areas of Pangquan Gou and Northern Wudang Mountains. In its east, there are scenic spots of Changshan Mountain and Niangziguan Pass.

Now, there are 162 tourist agencies, including 14 international tourist agencies, 148 domestic tourist agencies, and 69 foreign star- class hotels.

In 2003, it hosted tourists of 31600 from over- seas and 1037 from home. Its foreign exchange in- come from tourism reached US$1400.00 million and its domestic tourist income reached US$3. 167 billion.