YangquanWade-Giles romanization Yang-ch’üanPinyin Yangquancity, eastern Shansi Shanxi province (sheng), northeast-central China. It is a prefecture-level municipality (shih) entirely surrounded by Chin-chung prefecture (ti-ch’ü). Yang-ch’üan is shi) located in the mountains of Shansi, west of the main range of the T’ai-hang Shan (mountains), western portion of the Taihang Mountains at the eastern end of the a route through the mountains via Niang-tzu Kuan (pass)Niangzi Pass. Its site was of major strategic importance throughout history, commanding one of the main routes from the North China Plain to Shansi Shanxi and the Northwest.Yang-ch’üan northwestern China.

Yangquan itself, however, was only an insignificant mountain village, subordinate to the nearby town of P’ing-ting Pingding until the early 20th century. It was first opened up by the construction completion (1907) of the railway from Shih-chia-chuang in Hopeh Shijiazhuang in Hebei province to T’ai-yüanTaiyuan, the provincial capital of ShansiShanxi. Yang-ch’üan Yangquan then became a railway centre, as well as a key road junction on the east-west highway via the Niang-tzu KuanNiangzi Pass, being also linked to the north-south route to the valleys of southeastern ShansiShanxi.

With the coming of the railway, Yang-ch’üanYangquan, located in the heart of the rich Shansi Shanxi coalfield, also became an important mining centre, producing both coking coal and anthracite. Much of the coal is now used for generating electric power, both locally and in T’ai-yüanTaiyuan. It also supplied the Lung-yen Longyan steelworks at Hsüan-huaXuanhua in Hebei province, northwest of Peking in Hopeh. Yen Hsi-shanBeijing. Yan Xishan, provincial warlord of Shansi Shanxi in the first half of the 20th century, established an ironworks at Yang-ch’üanYangquan. This formed the base of a local munitions industry and was one of the few ironworks that continued in production through the economically depressed years of the late 1920s and ’30s.

Geological surveys have also revealed rich deposits of iron ore, pyrite, bauxite, plaster stonegypsum, and other minerals in the vicinity. The city has developed various other industries, including metallurgy, chemicals, machinery, and construction equipment. Its position as a transportation hub of eastern Shansi Shanxi was strengthened with the electrification and expansion of the railway and the construction of an express highway between Shih-chia-chuang and T’ai-yüanexpressway between Shijiazhuang and Taiyuan. Pop. (1998 2002 est.) 447487,200332.