Shanxi

Shanxi is a province in North China. Its capital and largest city is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi and Datong. Its one-character abbreviation is (), after the state of Jin that existed there during the Spring and Autumn period (). In later periods, Shanxi also became the political core of the Northern Wei, a Xianbei-founded dynasty whose early capital was located in present-day northern Datong. During the Qing dynasty, Shanxi merchants dominated China's commerce and finance. Their commercial networks extended to Russia, Japan, Korea, Central Asia,