Yanshi
History
After the Zhou conquest of Shang in mid-11th century BC, King Wu of Zhou founded a garrison town to the east of modern Yanshi to accommodate some of the campaigning troops. When Qin annexed Zhou in 256 BC, Yanshi County was established. The county's borders underwent several changes over the course of history.
In 1993, Yanshi County became the county-level Yanshi City.
In 2021, it became Yanshi District of Luoyang City.
Administrative divisions
As of 2012, Yanshi is divided to 11 towns and 3 townships.
- Towns
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- Townships
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Climate
| Climate data for Yanshi (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 19.4 (66.9) |
23.2 (73.8) |
30.3 (86.5) |
38.5 (101.3) |
41.9 (107.4) |
42.7 (108.9) |
41.4 (106.5) |
39.3 (102.7) |
40.3 (104.5) |
35.2 (95.4) |
28.6 (83.5) |
22.7 (72.9) |
42.7 (108.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 6.5 (43.7) |
10.5 (50.9) |
16.5 (61.7) |
23.3 (73.9) |
28.5 (83.3) |
32.9 (91.2) |
33.0 (91.4) |
31.3 (88.3) |
27.4 (81.3) |
21.9 (71.4) |
14.6 (58.3) |
8.4 (47.1) |
21.2 (70.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 1.0 (33.8) |
4.5 (40.1) |
10.2 (50.4) |
16.7 (62.1) |
22.1 (71.8) |
26.7 (80.1) |
27.8 (82.0) |
26.3 (79.3) |
21.8 (71.2) |
15.9 (60.6) |
8.7 (47.7) |
2.8 (37.0) |
15.4 (59.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −3.2 (26.2) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
4.9 (40.8) |
10.7 (51.3) |
16.2 (61.2) |
21.3 (70.3) |
23.7 (74.7) |
22.4 (72.3) |
17.4 (63.3) |
11.2 (52.2) |
4.1 (39.4) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
10.6 (51.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −17.3 (0.9) |
−16.8 (1.8) |
−9.9 (14.2) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
1.9 (35.4) |
11.8 (53.2) |
16.9 (62.4) |
12.9 (55.2) |
7.2 (45.0) |
−2.4 (27.7) |
−8.4 (16.9) |
−12.8 (9.0) |
−17.3 (0.9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 7.7 (0.30) |
10.3 (0.41) |
19.4 (0.76) |
33.5 (1.32) |
49.0 (1.93) |
64.6 (2.54) |
113.9 (4.48) |
95.9 (3.78) |
69.4 (2.73) |
37.1 (1.46) |
24.4 (0.96) |
5.1 (0.20) |
530.3 (20.87) |
| Average precipitation days | 3.5 | 3.9 | 4.9 | 5.6 | 7.3 | 7.7 | 10.4 | 10.0 | 8.7 | 6.5 | 5.2 | 2.8 | 76.5 |
| Average snowy days | 3.7 | 3.2 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 11.4 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 59 | 58 | 55 | 58 | 59 | 59 | 73 | 76 | 72 | 68 | 67 | 60 | 64 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 133.6 | 141.5 | 177.3 | 204.7 | 220.4 | 204.4 | 182.5 | 176.7 | 153.3 | 151.3 | 145.7 | 146.4 | 2,037.8 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 43 | 45 | 48 | 52 | 51 | 47 | 42 | 43 | 42 | 44 | 47 | 48 | 46 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration | |||||||||||||
Archaeological sites
There are two important archaeological sites in this area.
Erlitou site
The Erlitou culture (1900–1500 BC) was discovered in Yanshi in 1959. Erlitou is the name of the modern village nearby; the traditional name of the settlement was Zhenxun (斟鄩, Zhēnxún).
Yanshi Shang City
In 1983, a walled city dating from 1600 BC was found 6 km (3.7 mi) north-east of the Erlitou site in Yanshi's Shixianggou Township. This city, now known as Yanshi Shang City (偃师商城, Yǎnshī Shāngchéng), had an area of nearly 200 ha (490 acres) and featured pottery characteristic of the Erligang culture. Some scholars—including the Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project—identify it with the first Shang dynasty capital, Western Bo (西亳, Xībó) which was traditionally credited to King Tang after his defeat of the Xia dynasty.
Famous people from Yanshi
- Xuanzang (602 - 664), Buddhist monk, traveler and translator