Shuozhou

Shuozhou

Shuozhou is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi province, China, bordering Inner Mongolia to the northwest. It is situated along the upper reaches of the Fen River. The prefecture as a whole has an area of about 10,662 km2 (4,117 sq mi) and, in 2010, a population of about 1.71 million.[2] The site of Shuozhou was the ancient Chinese frontier town of Mayi (马邑),[4] which was used as a trading post between China and the Xiongnu nomads of the eastern Eurasian steppe. In 201 BC, the founder of the Han dynasty Liu Bang (posthumously known as Emperor Gaozu or the "High Ancestor") moved Han Xin from his fief around Yuzhou in Henan to Mayi, where he was attacked by the Xiongnu. Finding himself distrusted by the Han emperor, Han Xin allied with the Xiongnu instead and joined them on their raids against China until his death in battle in 196 BC. Mayi was subsequently the capital of Dai Prefecture and the scene of an attempted ambush of the Xiongnu by Chinese troops in 133 BC.