ShanXi is in north China,with an area of about 157,100 sq km and population of 32,970,000(2000).It occupies a loess-covered plateau and has as its economic focus on the Fen River valley, which widens to form the fertile and centrally located Taiyuan Basin. Mountainous areas ring all over except south. The Huang He (Yellow River), forms the western and part of the southern border. Kaoliang and wheat and cotton are the chief crops. ShanXi people are making great efforts to increase agricultural productivity through irrigation and reclamation of eroded lands. Coal production is a major industry. The capital, Taiyuan, is the largest city and chief industrial center; Datong is the other major city,famous for coal-mining and rail.