Taiyuan--my hometown

Climate

       Taiyuan experiences a semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSK). Spring is dry, with frequent dust storms, followed by early summer heat waves. Summer tends to be warm to hot with most of the year's rainfall concentrated in July and August. Winter is long and cold, but dry and sunny. Because of the aridity, there tends be considerable diurnal variation in temperature, except during the summer. Conditions are much cooler than comparable-latitude cities, such as Shijiazhuang, due to the moderately high altitude. The monthly 24-hour average temperature range froms −5.5 °C (22.1 °F) in January to 23.4 °C (74.1 °F) in July, while the annual mean is 9.96 °C (49.9 °F).

Taiyuan--my hometown

Transportation

 City transportation The Fen River flows through the city from north to south, dividing the city into two parts: Qiaoxi (West of the Bridge) and Qiaodong (East of the Bridge). As of 2007, there are five bridges across the Fen River within the city limits: the Shengli Bridge (1970), the Yifen Bridge (1990), the Yingze Bridge (1954), the Nanneihuan Bridge (1988), and the Changfeng Bridge (2001). About ten kilometers to the north of the Shengli Bridge, there is the Chaicun Bridge. Two more bridges are being planned: Beizhonghuan Bridge and Nanzhonghuan Bridge.

Air The primary airport of the city is Taiyuan Wusu Airport. The airport has been expanded for the landing of Airbus A380.

Highway

• A highway circling the metropolis of City of Taiyuan has been built.
• China National Highway 208

Railway The newly constructed Shijiazhuang–Taiyuan High-Speed Railway has shortened the travel time between Taiyuan and Beijing to less than three hours on a distance of 600 km (370 mi).

The Taiyuan-Zhongwei-Yinchuan Railway, opened in 2011, provides a direct connection with western Shanxi, northern Shaanxi, Ningxia, and points west.

Taiyuan--my hometown

Food

Shanxi, especially Taiyuan, has the most famous noodle cuisine in China. Also,Taiyuan's local specialties include:

• Local Dish: guoyourou (过油肉 stir fried meat)
  • Yang za (羊杂), stir fried mixed mutton offal, is the featured dish in many popular restaurants.
• Starch- or flour-made food: liang len (see grass jelly), mian pi (面皮)
• Noodles: daoxiaomian (刀削面, knife-sliced noodles), lamian, maoerduo (猫耳朵, cat-ear shaped noodle), tomato egg noodles (西红柿炒鸡蛋面, noodles with tomato and scrambled eggs), tijian (剔尖, scraped noodles)
• Soup:
  • Tounao (头脑, "brain" soup): Contains mutton, rice wine and vegetables in the soup. This dish was first created by Chinese polymath Fu Shan, who was proficient in medicine, for his old and illness-ridden mother as a food substitute for the ancient medicine Bazhen Tang (literally "Soup of Eight Treasures") using only locally available food materials that have similar effects as the original medicine.^[15]
  • Yangroutang, lamb soup (羊肉汤): a kind of soup which is made of mutton
  • Wanzitang (丸子汤): meatball soup
• Vinegar: Of the four kinds of famous vinegar in China, Shanxi aged vinegar or laochencu in Chinese is considered the best.