Xinzhou, ancient name Xiurong (秀荣),[4] is a prefecture-level city occupying the north-central section of inner land Shanxi Province in the People's Republic of China, bordering Hebei to the east, Shaanxi to the west, and Inner Mongolia to the northwest. As of 2022, the city has a permanent population of 2,655,563.[5] As of 2024, there are 14 county-level administrative divisions under jurisdiction of Xinzhou, including 1 district, 1 county-level city, and 12 counties. The details of those county-level administrative divisions are as follows:[6] Xinzhou has a continental, monsoon-influenced semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk),[7] with cold, very dry, and somewhat long winters, and warm, somewhat humid summers. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −9.1 °C (15.6 °F) in January to 22.8 °C (73.0 °F) in July, and the annual mean is 8.51 °C (47.3 °F). Typifying the influence of the East Asian Monsoon, close to three-fourths of the annual 428 millimetres (16.9 in) of precipitation occurs from June to September.