Benxi

Benxi (Chinese: 本溪) is a prefecture-level city in the east of Liaoning province, in China. It is found southeast of the big city Shenyang. In 2020, about 1.3 million people lived in Benxi.

The city began in 1915 as a place to make steel. Benxi Iron and Steel Company was one of the biggest steel makers in China. Today, many people in Benxi still work at the steel company. Another big job in the area is coal mining.

Because of the steel making and coal mining, Benxi sometimes has pollution in the air and water. Even so, Benxi remains an important city for industry in Liaoning province.

History

People have lived in the Benxi area for over 400,000 years. Evidence of this can be found at Miaohou Mountain, where scientists discovered old human fossils and stone tools.

The city of Benxi is also home to many people from the Manchu and Hui communities.

Administrative divisions

Benxi has 4 districts and 2 autonomous counties.

These areas include 25 counties, 40 villages and towns, 229 communities, and 289 village committees.

Map
Pingshan Xihu Mingshan Nanfen Benxi County Huanren County
#	Name	Chinese	Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2003 est.)	Area (km2)	Density (/km2)
1	Pingshan District	平山区	Píngshān Qū	350,000	177	1,977
2	Xihu District	溪湖区	Xīhú Qū	220,000	320	688
3	Mingshan District	明山区	Míngshān Qū	300,000	410	732
4	Nanfen District	南芬区	Nánfēn Qū	80,000	619	129
5	Benxi Manchu Autonomous County	本溪满族 自治县	Běnxī Mǎnzú Zìzhìxiàn	300,000	3,362	89
6	Huanren Manchu Autonomous County	桓仁满族 自治县	Huánrén Mǎnzú Zìzhìxiàn	300,000	3,547	85

Geography

Benxi is found between 40° 49'–41° 35' N and 123° 34'–125° 46' E, covering 8,411.31 square kilometres (3,247.62 sq mi). It touches Tonghua in Jilin to the east, Dandong to the south, Liaoyang to the west, Shenyang to the northwest, and Fushun to the north. The land has many mountains and lots of forests, with trees covering 74% of the area.

Benxi has a climate with big changes between seasons. Summers are hot and humid, while winters are long, cold, and windy but dry. Most of the rain falls in July and August. Temperatures change from about −11.5 °C in January to 24.0 °C in July, with an average of 7.83 °C throughout the year. The city gets around 2,325 hours of sunshine each year.

Economy

Benxi's economy grew by 10% in 2012, reaching a regional GDP of 111.24 billion CNY. This made up about 4% of the total economy for the whole province of Liaoning. The city had many large factories, making things like iron, steel, cement, and coal.

People in Benxi worked in many jobs, such as manufacturing, education, public services, the mining industry, and transportation. Some also worked for private companies. The area also has mines for uranium. In 2009, a very large iron ore mine was found there, with more than 3 billion tons of iron available.

Education

The city is home to the Benxi Campus of the Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. There is also a well-known senior high school called Benxi Senior High School, which has been discussed because of questions about how many students participate in sports there.

Tourist activities

The eastern side of Benxi has beautiful mountains, caves, and lakes, which makes its parks very popular for visitors. One special place is Benxi Lake, found in the Xihu district. This lake is known for being very small, covering less than 15 square meters, but it still draws many tourists.

There are also some amazing places to explore nearby, such as the Benxi Water Cave National Park. This park has a river inside a cave that is about 3,000 meters long. The cave features interesting shapes like stalactites and stone flowers. Another notable spot is Wunü Mountain National Park, which contains the remains of an ancient capital city and is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Guanmenshan National Forest Park is a valley with walking trails, especially lovely in autumn when the maple leaves turn bright red.

Pictures

• Steel industry Feb 2013

• View from the top of Pingdingshan

Sister cities

Benxi has friendly connections with cities in other countries. These include Peoria in Illinois, United States, Brampton in Ontario, Canada, and Modena, Italy. These partnerships help the cities learn from each other and work together.