Linfen
| Linfen 临汾 Pingyang (平阳) |
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|---|---|
| — Prefecture-level city — | |
| 临汾市 | |
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| Coordinates: 36°05′N 111°31′E / 36.083°N 111.517°ECoordinates: 36°05′N 111°31′E / 36.083°N 111.517°E | |
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| Province | Shanxi |
| City seat | Yaodu District |
| Area | |
| • Total | 20,275 km2 (7,828 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 452 m (1,483 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 2,346.8 m (7,699.5 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 385.1 m (1,263.5 ft) |
| Population (2010 Census) | |
| • Total | 4,316,612 |
| • Density | 210/km2 (550/sq mi) |
| Time zone | China Standard (UTC+8) |
| Postal code | 041000 |
| Area code(s) | 0357 |
| Licence plates | 晋L |
| Website | http://www.linfen.gov.cn/ |
Linfen (simplified Chinese: 临汾; traditional Chinese: 臨汾; pinyin: Línfén) is a prefecture-level city in southern Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It is situated along the banks of the Fen River. It has an area of 20,275 square kilometres (7,828 sq mi)[1] and according to the 2010 Census, a population of 4,316,612 inhabitants[2]. It was known as Pingyang (平阳) during the Spring and Autumn Period. According to a study by Blacksmith Institute based in New York City in 2006, Linfen is the most polluted city in the world. [1]
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[edit] History
According to legend, the site of present-day Linfen was the capital of Yao, a legendary ruler more than 4000 years ago. In the 1980s, Linfen was nicknamed "The Modern Fruit and Flower Town". However, because of the proliferation of coal-burning power plants, the city has become smoggy and dust-covered.
[edit] Geography and climate
Linfen is located in the southwestern part of the Shanxi Province, on the lower reaches of the Fen River, bounded by Changzhi and Jincheng to the east, the Yellow River to the west (which also forms the border with Shaanxi province), Jinzhong and Lüliang to the north, and Yuncheng to the south. The prefecture ranges in latitude from 35°23′N to 36°37′N, spanning 170 kilometres (110 mi), and in longitude from 110°22′E to 112°34′E, spanning 200 kilometres (120 mi). In all, the city's administrative area, at 20,275 square kilometres (7,828 sq mi), covers 13% of the province's area.[1]
Within its borders Linfen City has a variety of topographical features. It can generally be characterised as having a U shape, with mountains, covering 29.2% of the prefectural area, on all four cardinal directions, a basin, the Linfen Basin (临汾盆地), covering 19.4%, in the middle, and intervening hills, covering 51.4%, in between.[1] In the east, from north to south, are Mount Huo (霍山) and Mount Zhongtiao (中条山); in the west are the Lüliang Mountains (吕梁山脉), with elevations mostly above 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). The highest point in the prefecture is the main peak of Mount Huo, at 2,347 metres (7,700 ft), and the lowest is in Xiangning County, at 385 metres (1,263 ft). Important rivers in the area include the Yellow, Fen, Tingshui (听水河), Qin (沁河), Hui (浍河), E (鄂河), and Qingshui Rivers (清水河).
The whole features offers open spaces and various, diversified terrain. The city itself sits in a basin, which exacerbates pollution problems.
Linfen has a continental, monsoon-influenced semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk), with moderately cold, but dry winters, and hot, somewhat humid summers. The annual precipitation stands at 470 millimetres (18.5 in), with close to 70% of this total falling from June to September.
| Climate data for Linfen (1971−2000) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 4.0 (39.2) |
7.8 (46.0) |
13.8 (56.8) |
21.4 (70.5) |
26.9 (80.4) |
31.3 (88.3) |
32.0 (89.6) |
30.6 (87.1) |
25.8 (78.4) |
19.7 (67.5) |
11.8 (53.2) |
5.3 (41.5) |
19.2 (66.6) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −8.2 (17.2) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
1.2 (34.2) |
7.7 (45.9) |
12.7 (54.9) |
17.9 (64.2) |
21.2 (70.2) |
20.2 (68.4) |
14.3 (57.7) |
7.3 (45.1) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
−6.1 (21.0) |
7.0 (44.6) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 3.3 (0.13) |
5.4 (0.213) |
16.8 (0.661) |
26.2 (1.031) |
37.2 (1.465) |
55.2 (2.173) |
119.2 (4.693) |
91.1 (3.587) |
57.0 (2.244) |
36.8 (1.449) |
15.6 (0.614) |
4.7 (0.185) |
468.5 (18.445) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 2.2 | 2.8 | 4.6 | 5.6 | 6.4 | 8.8 | 12.0 | 10.0 | 8.6 | 6.4 | 3.8 | 2.0 | 73.2 |
| Source: Weather China | |||||||||||||
[edit] Administrative divisions
The prefecture-level city of Linfen is divided in one district, two cities and fourteen counties. The information here presented uses the metric system and data from 2010 Census.
| Map | |||||||
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| # | English Name | Simplified | Traditional | Pinyin | Area | Population | Density |
| 1 | Yaodu District | 尧都区 | 堯都區 | Yáodū Qū | 1,316 | 944,050 | 717 |
| 2 | Houma City | 侯马市 | 侯馬市 | Hóumǎ Shì | 274 | 240,005 | 876 |
| 3 | Huozhou City | 霍州市 | 霍州市 | Huòzhōu Shì | 765 | 282,907 | 370 |
| 4 | Quwo County | 曲沃县 | 曲沃縣 | Qǔwò Xiàn | 438 | 237,033 | 541 |
| 5 | Yicheng County | 翼城县 | 翼城縣 | Yìchéng Xiàn | 1,163 | 311,471 | 268 |
| 6 | Xiangfen County | 襄汾县 | 襄汾縣 | Xiāngfén Xiàn | 1,304 | 442,614 | 339 |
| 7 | Hongdong County | 洪洞县 | 洪洞縣 | Hóngtóng Xiàn | 1,563 | 733,421 | 469 |
| 8 | Gu County | 古县 | 古縣 | Gǔ Xiàn | 1,193 | 91,798 | 77 |
| 9 | Anze County | 安泽县 | 安澤縣 | Ānzé Xiàn | 1,965 | 82,012 | 42 |
| 10 | Fushan County | 浮山县 | 浮山縣 | Fúshān Xiàn | 946 | 127,831 | 135 |
| 11 | Ji County | 吉县 | 吉縣 | Jí Xiàn | 1,777 | 106,407 | 60 |
| 12 | Xiangning County | 乡宁县 | 鄉寧縣 | Xiāngníng Xiàn | 2,029 | 233,162 | 115 |
| 13 | Pu County | 蒲县 | 蒲縣 | Pú Xiàn | 1,508 | 107,339 | 71 |
| 14 | Daning County | 大宁县 | 大寧縣 | Dàníng Xiàn | 967 | 64,501 | 67 |
| 15 | Yonghe County | 永和县 | 永和縣 | Yǒnghé Xiàn | 1,219 | 63,649 | 52 |
| 16 | Xi County | 隰县 | 隰縣 | Xí Xiàn | 1,415 | 103,617 | 73 |
| 17 | Fenxi County | 汾西县 | 汾西縣 | Fénxī Xiàn | 880 | 144,795 | 165 |
[edit] Economy
Notable industries of the Linfen area include coal mining and food processing.
[edit] Pollution
It has been mentioned by Blacksmith Institute as one of the most polluted cities in the world, and the world's dirtiest city by The Mother Nature Network. It has also been chosen as one of the world's ten dirtiest cities by the Popular Science website and one of the 10 most polluted cities in the world by Time Magazine.[3]
Linfen's pollution problems began with the economic boom of the late 1990s and sped up after 2002, when domestic energy demand spiked, coal prices jumped, and the reins on private mine owners were loosened. At its low point, in 2004, Linfen had only 15 days out of 365 with an acceptable level of air pollution (two or above on the index). The cleanup was equally dramatic. The first step was to block coal trucks at the city's boundaries; suddenly there was much less coal dust. Next came heating: In 2006 alone, Linfen added enough gas-fired central heating to reach more than half of the city's 4.1 million people, and it knocked down 197 large coal-fired boilers and more than 600 smaller, family-size boilers. Now 85 percent of the city uses natural gas rather than coal for their heating.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Geography of Linfen" (in Simplified Chinese). Lifen People's Government. http://www.linfen.gov.cn/go.shtml. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
- ^ (Chinese) Compilation by LianXin website. Data from the Sixth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China
- ^ The World's 10 Worst Cities
[edit] External links
- Official website of Linfen Government
- LinFen Photo Essay
- A canary in the Chinese coal mine (published 2007-03-02; accessed 2007-04-01)
- BBC article Blacksmith Institute list
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