Sanmenxia

As of the 2020 census, it was home to 2,034,872 inhabitants of which 820,300 lived in the built-up area made of Hubin, Shanzhou urban districts and Pinglu County in neighboring Shanxi (205,080 inhabitants), now within the agglomeration.

Names and history

The city's name in Chinese (三门峡) 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).

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.

During the Western Han and Tang dynasties, when the capital was in Chang'an, the grain tribute passed upstream through Sanmenxia. The rapids were dangerous, with losses ranging from 20% to 50% in the Tang dynasty, which was a reason for moving the capital to Luoyang. There were several unsuccessful projects to bypass the rapids with canals or remove boulders, and sometimes it was bypassed with roads. Starting in 150 AD, gallery roads were built for towpaths and repaired in following years.

With the construction of the Sanmenxia Dam in the late 1950s, the ancient passes started to become flooded. Archeologists intensely studied them before they were submerged.

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.