Atlas of China
Yuncheng 运城Yùnchéng
Salt pans in rainbow colours, Guan Yu's home town and murals saved from a dam
About Yuncheng
Yuncheng, where the Yellow River turns east in Shanxi's south-west corner, grew rich on salt, and the pans of Yuncheng Salt Lake turn violet, scarlet and emerald. Guan Yu, the Three Kingdoms general later worshipped as a god of loyalty, came from here, and Xiezhou Guandi Temple is among the largest temples to him in China. Yongle Palace, a Taoist complex with Yuan-dynasty murals, was moved piece by piece between 1958 and 1966 to escape a reservoir.
What to eat in Yuncheng
- Guan Gong lamb soup (关公羊汤)
- Emperor Shun flatbread (舜帝烧饼)
Featured places in Yuncheng
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Xiezhou Guandi Temple 解州关帝庙
Gateways, halls and towers honouring the deified general Guan Yu in his home district
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Yongle Palace 永乐宫
Yuan-dynasty Taoist murals in a temple moved piece by piece to make way for a reservoir
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Yuncheng Salt Lake 运城盐湖
Brine ponds that turn red, pink and green in summer, below the Zhongtiao Mountains
Listed sites in Yuncheng
92 listed sites are in Yuncheng. These are the 20 rated 5A or 4A; see all 92 in the Shanxi list.
- Dayudu Yellow River Scenic Area 大禹渡 4A scenic area · on the map
Dayudu is a ferry crossing on the Yellow River in the south of Ruicheng, facing Henan across the water and named for Yu the Great, the legendary flood-controller. - Dongyue Temple and Feiyun Tower, Wanrong 万荣东岳庙·飞云楼 4A scenic area · National heritage site · on the map
Dongyue Temple stands in the middle of Wanrong's county town, and its landmark is the Feiyun Tower at the front: a 23 m timber tower of three visible storeys under yellow, green and blue glazed-tile roofs, held up by four tall pillars that run its full height. - Duiyun Cave Taoist Temple, Xiaxian 堆云洞 4A scenic area · on the map
A Taoist temple complex founded in the early Yuan dynasty, built in terraces of courtyards and cave rooms in a loess gully at Shangniu village in Shuitou town. - Fenghuang Valley Forest Park 凤凰谷 4A scenic area · on the map
Fenghuang Valley is a forest park in the Zhongtiao hills just south of Yuncheng, in Yanhu District, made up of Fenghuang Mountain and five valleys, with walking trails and a viewing corridor on the ridge. - Houtu Temple, Wanrong 万荣后土祠 4A scenic area · National heritage site
This is the successor to the Han-dynasty shrine where emperors came to sacrifice to Houtu, goddess of the earth: Emperor Wu of Han made it the imperial site for the rite in the second century BC, and Tang and Song emperors also made offerings here. - Jiangbei Grand Canyon, Jiang County 绛北大峡谷 4A scenic area · on the map
A mountain gorge scenic area on Xiaobeishan in the Zhongtiao hills, in Moli township east of Jiang County, developed since 2012 around a river-rafting course of about 5 km through the canyon, which drops about 200 m. - Jiangzhou Prefectural Office and Main Hall 绛州署·绛州大堂 4A scenic area · National heritage site · on the map
Xinjiang town was the seat of Jiangzhou prefecture, and its government offices stood on a high bluff in the west of the old town; only the main hall and a second hall survive. - Jishan Banzao Jujube Park 稷山板枣公园 4A scenic area · on the map
This park of old jujube orchards around Yao, Taoliang and Jijiazhuang villages, north-west of Jishan town, holds more than 17,000 ancient jujube trees, many around a thousand years old. - Li Family Mansion, Yanjing 闫景李家大院 4A scenic area · National heritage site · on the map
Begun in the Daoguang reign (1821–1850) by the Li family, who moved from farming and study into trade, this courtyard compound in Yanjing village is often grouped with the Qiao and Wang family compounds as one of Shanxi's three great merchant houses. - Lishan Scenic Area, Yuanqu 历山风景区 4A scenic area · on the map
Lishan is a mountain scenic area in the south-east of Yuanqu County, made up of sections with separate entrances: Shunwangping, the meadow on the 2,358 m main summit, named for the legendary sage-king Shun, whom Chinese tradition places farming on Mount Li; Huangguman, the second-highest peak at 2,134 m; and Mihouyuan, where a large colony of wild macaques gathers. - Mausoleum and Temple of Emperor Shun 舜帝陵庙 4A scenic area · National heritage site · on the map
This is the tomb and temple of Emperor Shun, a legendary ruler of ancient China, on the Mingtiao ridge near Xiquma village in Beixiang town. - Pujiu Temple 普救寺 4A scenic area · National heritage site
Pujiu Temple is the setting of the love story in The Story of the Western Wing, in which the scholar Zhang Sheng and Cui Yingying meet, and its brick pagoda is nicknamed the Yingying Pagoda after the heroine. - Shengtian Lake 圣天湖 4A scenic area · on the map
A lake on the Yellow River shore in Ruicheng County, run as a leisure scenic area with lakeside paths and boating. - Shentan Grand Canyon, Yongji 神潭大峡谷 4A scenic area · on the map
Shentan Grand Canyon is a gorge scenic area in the Zhongtiao Mountains just south of Yongji. - Sima Guang Tomb and Shrine, Xiaxian 司马温公祠·司马光墓 4A scenic area · National heritage site · on the map
This is the family burial ground of Sima Guang (1019–1086), the Northern Song chief minister and historian who compiled the Zizhi Tongjian, on the Mingtiao ridge north-west of Xiaxian, with a shrine complex built around it. - Stork Tower 鹳雀楼 4A scenic area
The Stork Tower is a modern reconstruction of a tower on the Yellow River bank made famous by a short poem of the Tang poet Wang Zhihuan, and it is counted as one of China's Four Great Towers. - Wangxian Grand Canyon, Yuanqu 望仙大峡谷 4A scenic area · on the map
Wangxian Grand Canyon is a gorge scenic area in Wangxian village, in the hills of south-eastern Yuanqu County, where a stream cuts through a narrow rock canyon. - Wulao Peak, Yongji 五老峰 4A scenic area · on the map
Wulao Peak is a mountain scenic area in the southern Zhongtiao Mountains, once known as Donghua Mountain and counted among the famous Taoist mountains of northern China. - Yellow River Great Ladder Cliff 黄河大梯子崖 4A scenic area · on the map
A zigzag stone stairway cut by hand into a sheer cliff on the Yellow River bank in Banpo village, Xiahua township, is the centrepiece of this scenic area; the provincial tourism department dates it to more than 1,500 years ago. - Yellow River Longmen Scenic Area, Hejin 黄河龙门 4A scenic area · on the map
At Yumenkou the Yellow River leaves the long Shanxi–Shaanxi gorge and widens onto the plain, the spot behind the saying about carp leaping the Dragon Gate to become dragons.
Getting to Yuncheng
Train, flight and driving times from the cities most visitors come from, with stations, fares and how many run a day; each opens the full comparison.
On the map
Open Yuncheng on the illustrated map to see its outline, its places and listed sites together, and to add them to a trip.
Open Yuncheng on the map