Shanxi

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Shanxi is a province in North China. Its capital and largest city is Taiyuan, and its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi and Datong. The province's one-character abbreviation is 晋 (Jìn), after the state of Jin that existed there during the Spring and Autumn period (c. 770 – c. 481 BC). 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 Ming and Qing dynasties, Shanxi merchants dominated China's commerce and finance. Their commercial networks extended to Russia, Japan, Korea, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. After the collapse of the Qing dynasty, Shanxi was governed for nearly four decades by Yan Xishan and functioned with a high degree of de facto autonomy within the Republic of China, serving as a major Kuomintang political and industrial stronghold in the north and being described as "the model province", before being incorporated...

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