Nice small map titled Terrasses du Chansi, from wood engraving with fine detail and clear impression, nice hand coloring. Overall size approx. 20 x 16 cm, image size approx. 13 x 9.5 cm. From La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes, 19 vol. (1875-94), great work of Elisee Reclus. Cartographer is Charles Perron.

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Shanxi

Wade-Giles romanization Shan-hsi , conventional Shansi

sheng (province) of northern China. Roughly rectangular in shape, Shanxi is  bounded by the provinces of Hebei to the east, Henan to the south and southeast,  and Shaanxi to the west and by the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to the  north. The name Shanxi (“West of the Mountains”—i.e., west of the Taihang  Mountains) testifies to the rugged terrain of the territory. The largest city  and provincial capital, Taiyuan, is located in the centre of the province.

Shanxi has always held a strategic position as a gateway to the fertile plains  of Hebei and Henan. Since ancient times it has also served as a buffer between  China and the Mongolian and Central Asian steppes. A key route for military and  trading expeditions, it was one of the major avenues for the entrance of  Buddhism into China from India. Today it is important for its vast reserves of  coal and iron, which form the basis of heavy industrial development. Area 60,700  square miles (157,100 square km). Pop. (2010) 35,712,111.