Historic city · Cultural centre · Shanxi
Yuncheng
运城
Salt lake, Guan Yu's hometown and the Stork Tower on the Yellow River bend
Yuncheng is a prefecture-level city in the south-western corner of Shanxi, inside the great bend of the Yellow River, with a salt lake that has been worked for more than four thousand years. It is the hometown of the Three Kingdoms general Guan Yu, whose temple at Xiezhou is the largest dedicated to him, and holds the Yuan-dynasty Daoist murals of the Yongle Palace and the rebuilt Stork Tower of Wang Zhihuan's poem.
Key facts
Overview
Yuncheng lies in a basin between the Zhongtiao Mountains and the Yellow River, a region that belongs to the oldest heartland of Chinese civilisation. The salt lake south of the city supplied north China with salt from antiquity, and the city grew as the administrative centre of the salt trade.
The prefecture is rich in monuments: the Guandi temple at Xiezhou, the Yongle Palace at Ruicheng, the Pujiu Temple of the drama The Romance of the West Chamber, the iron oxen of the Tang pontoon bridge at Pujin, and the Houtu temple at Wanrong. It is also one of China's main apple-growing areas.
Names and nicknames
河东
“east of the river”
The historical name of the region east of the Yellow River bend.
盐运城
“salt-transport city”
The origin of the name: the Yuan made the town the seat of the salt transport commissioner.
History
Legend places the capitals of Yao, Shun and Yu the Great in the region, and the Xihoudu site in Ruicheng is among the oldest Palaeolithic sites in China. The salt lake was worked in the Bronze Age and taxed by every dynasty. Guan Yu was born in Xieliang in the second century and became, after his death in 220, one of the most widely worshipped figures in China. In the Tang the Pujin ford across the Yellow River was held by a pontoon bridge anchored by cast-iron oxen; the Stork Tower stood at Puzhou above the river. The Yongle Palace was moved to Ruicheng between 1959 and 1964 to save it from the Sanmenxia reservoir.
c. 160–220
Life of Guan Yu
The general of Liu Bei, born at Xieliang near today's city, was deified as Guandi, patron of loyalty, war and merchants.
724
Iron oxen of Pujin ford
Cast to anchor the Tang pontoon bridge over the Yellow River at Puzhou; four oxen and their iron attendants were excavated in 1989.
1247–1358
Yongle Palace built and painted
The Daoist temple of Lü Dongbin, with the murals of the Hall of the Three Purities among the finest paintings of the Yuan dynasty.
1959–1964
Yongle Palace relocated
The halls and murals were dismantled and moved from Yongle town to Ruicheng before the Sanmenxia reservoir flooded the original site.
2002
Stork Tower rebuilt
The tower of Wang Zhihuan's poem, lost since the Yuan, was reconstructed at Yongji above the Yellow River.
Landmarks
Temple or shrine
Xiezhou Guandi Temple
解州关帝庙
The largest temple to Guan Yu, rebuilt in the Qing, with the Chunqiu Tower where he is shown reading the Spring and Autumn Annals.
Temple or shrine
Yongle Palace
永乐宫
Yuan Daoist temple at Ruicheng whose murals depict hundreds of deities in procession.
Historic site
Stork Tower
鹳雀楼
Rebuilt tower overlooking the Yellow River at Yongji, on the site made famous by Tang poets.
Temple or shrine
Pujiu Temple
普救寺
The monastery near Yongji where The Romance of the West Chamber is set.
Nature
Yuncheng Salt Lake
运城盐湖
Salt lake south of the city whose brine pools turn red, green and purple with algae in summer.
Neighbourhoods
Yanhu District
盐湖区
The central district of the city, named after the salt lake.
Xiezhou
解州
Old town south-west of the city with the Guandi temple.
Food
Mutton húbǔ
羊肉胡卜
Flatbread torn into a rich mutton broth, the breakfast of south-western Shanxi.
Wenxi boiled cakes
闻喜煮饼
Round pastries fried and then dipped in honey syrup and rolled in sesame.
Culture
Yuncheng is a centre of Guan Yu worship, and his temple fair in Xiezhou draws visitors from across the Chinese-speaking world. The region is the home of Pu opera, one of the oldest forms of bangzi clapper opera, and has a strong literary tradition: Sima Guang, Liu Zongyuan's family and Wang Zhihuan's Stork Tower all belong to Hedong.
白日依山尽，黄河入海流。欲穷千里目，更上一层楼。Báirì yī shān jìn, Huánghé rù hǎi liú. Yù qióng qiānlǐ mù, gèng shàng yì céng lóu.
“The white sun sets behind the mountains; the Yellow River flows into the sea. To see a thousand li further, climb one more storey.”
— Wang Zhihuan, “Climbing the Stork Tower” (登鹳雀楼), Tang dynasty
Getting around
- Yuncheng North station is on the Datong–Xi'an high-speed railway, linking the city with Taiyuan and Xi'an.
- Yuncheng Guangong Airport lies north-east of the city.
- Buses connect the city with Xiezhou, Yongji and Ruicheng.
Day trips
Houtu Temple
后土祠
Temple of the earth goddess at Wanrong on the Yellow River, where Han Wudi composed his Autumn Wind poem.
Li family compound
李家大院
Merchant mansion in Wanrong mixing Chinese and Western architecture.
Wulao Peak
五老峰
Daoist mountain in the Zhongtiao range near Yongji.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Yuncheng Municipal People's Government — Yuncheng Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Yuncheng — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
More cities in Shanxi
- Taiyuan太原Capital · Historic city · Industrial centreDragon City of the Fen valley, where the Tang dynasty began
- Datong大同Historic city · Industrial centreNorthern Wei capital of the Yungang Grottoes on the Great Wall frontier
- Jinzhong晋中Historic city · Cultural centreHome of Pingyao and the Shanxi merchant compounds
- Xinzhou忻州Scenic area · Historic cityGateway to Mount Wutai and the Yanmen Pass
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