Sanmenxia

Names and history

The city's name in Chinese () means "The Gorge of Three Gateways" and is derived from two islands that split the Yellow River into three parts.

According to Chinese mythology, Yu the Great used a divine axe to cut the mountain ridge three times, creating the Sanmenxia gorges to prevent massive flooding. The three "men" or gates were then named "The Gateway of Man" (人门), "The Gateway of Gods" (神门) and "The Gateway of Devils" (鬼门).

With the construction of the Sanmenxia Dam in the late 1950s, the ancient passes were flooded.

During the Western Zhou dynasty, Sanmenxia was part of the territory of the State of Western Guo, ruled by relatives of the ruling Ji family of Zhou. Guo moved its capital from modern day Baoji to Shangyang (上阳), next to Sanmenxia. Later, this territory was annexed the State of Jin.

Archaeological finds near Sanmenxia between 1956 and 1991 revealed mass chariot graves and bronzeware of Western Guo State rulers. Furthermore, the archaeological site "Shihao Section of Xiaohan Ancient Road", an excavated pathway that is part of the world heritage site "Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor", is also located in Sanmenxia. In 2011, the Sanmenxia Cultural Sports Centre Stadium opened. The association football venue has a capacity of 22,000.

Geography and climate

Sanmenxia is located in western Henan on the southern (right) bank of the Yellow River, and is surrounded on three sides by mountains, with elevations generally increasing from northeast to southwest. Most of the prefecture is at an altitude of 300 to, although the highest peak in the province, at 2413.8 m, is located in Lingbao. The prefecture is at the intersection of Henan, Shanxi, and Shaanxi provinces, bordering Luoyang to the east, Nanyang to the south, Weinan (Shaanxi) to the west, and Yuncheng (Shanxi) to the north across the Yellow River.

Sanmenxia has a mostly dry, monsoon-influenced continental climate with four seasons. Winters are moderately cold and very dry, while summers are hot and humid. Monthly daily average temperatures range from −0.3 °C in January to 26.4 °C in July, and the annual mean is 13.9 °C. More than half of the annual precipitation falls from July to September. There are between 184 and 218 frost-free days per annum. In the Köppen system, the city is in the transition zone between a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa) and humid continental climate (Köppen Dwa), and receives barely enough precipitation to avoid being semi-arid (Köppen BSk).

| Jan record high C = 18.0 | Jan record low C = -12.5 | Feb record high C = 23.3 | Feb record low C = -10.9 | Mar record high C = 29.7 | Mar record low C = -6.2 | Apr record high C = 36.7 | Apr record low C = -0.4 | May record high C = 39.8 | May record low C = 4.7 | Jun record high C = 41.4 | Jun record low C = 12.4 | Jul record high C = 41.6 | Jul record low C = 15.8 | Aug record high C = 39.6 | Aug record low C = 12.8 | Sep record high C = 39.2 | Sep record low C = 6.5 | Oct record high C = 33.3 | Oct record low C = -2.1 | Nov record high C = 26.3 | Nov record low C = -8.0 | Dec record high C = 18.4 | Dec record low C = -12.8 all-time January high | script-title=zh:三门峡 - 气象数据 -中国天气网 | access-date = 29 November 2022}}

Administration

The prefecture-level city of Sanmenxia administers two districts, two county-level cities and two counties.

• Hubin District (湖滨区)
• Shanzhou District (陕州区)
• Lingbao City (灵宝市)
• Yima City (义马市)
• Lushi County (卢氏县)
• Mianchi County (渑池县)

Transportation

• China National Highway 209
• China National Highway 310

Notable people

• Gao Jixing, founding prince of Jingnan during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of China
• Hao Pengju, Chinese general and politician
• Zhang Zifeng, actress

References

References

1. "China: Hénán (Prefectures, Cities, Districts and Counties) - Population Statistics, Charts and Map".
2. 河南省统计局、国家统计局河南调查总队. (November 2017). "《河南统计年鉴－2017》". [[China Statistics Press]].
3. "河南统计年鉴—2017". www.ha.stats.gov.cn.
4. Peel, M. C. and Finlayson, B. L. and McMahon, T. A. (2007). [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Asia_K%C3%B6ppen_Map.png "Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification"]. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11: 1633-1644. ISSN 1027-5606.
5. link. [[China Meteorological Administration]]
6. "Sina Visitor System". weatherman_信欣 on [[Weibo]].
7. (2017-07-05). "三门峡籍女演员张子枫出任"三门峡旅游形象大使"". Henan Daily.