For centuries, Taiyuan city was the home of Jin culture, a pearl in ancient Chinese civilization. On September 4, the capital of north China's Shanxi Province, will celebrate its 2,500 birthday. Over the centuries, Taiyuan city has witnessed the ups and downs of China's heartland.

The monument marks the original site of Taiyuan, 25 kilometers away from the city's present location. The Chinese characters "Taiyuan" mean a wide plain. Sitting at the foot of the lofty Taihang Mountains, Taiyuan has witnessed numerous events which helped form and change Chinese civilization over the millennia.

In the late Spring and Autumn period in the 5th century BC, a minister of the Jin Princedom built the city of Jinyang from scratch. It was renamed Taiyuan after Qinshihuang unified China and set up the Taiyuan prefecture, some 300 years later. Recent historical research puts the city's establishment in the year 497 BC.

There was sporadic human activity on the site of Taiyuan as early as 5,000 years ago. Besides its glory and prosperity, Taiyuan city has also survived numerous natural and man－made disasters in its 2,500 years of history.

Historian Wang jin said: "Over 2,500 years, Taiyuan city survived three major disasters, during the West Jin Dynasty in the 4th century, the early Song Dynasty in the 10th century, and the late Yuan Dynasty in the 14th century. The city has been twice torched and burnt to the ground and was flooded several times. But every time it was rebuilt and became prosperous once again."

Chinese people living overseas identify themselves as Tang people, after the Tang Dynasty, a glorious apex of Chinese civilization from the 7th to the 10th century. Founders of the prestigious Tang Dynasty had their origins in Taiyuan city. From there, the dazzling Tang culture brought China to its utmost prosperity.
 
(CCTV.com September 3, 2003)