Xinzhou

Xinzhou, ancient name Xiurong (秀荣),[4] is a prefecture-level city occupying the north-central section of Shanxi Province in the People's Republic of China, bordering Hebei to the east, Shaanxi to the west, and Inner Mongolia to the northwest. Xinzhou has a continental, monsoon-influenced semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk),[5] 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. According to the seventh national census of Xinzhou, the prefecture city had 2,689,700 inhabitants in 2020, of whom the built-up (or metro) area was home to 1,446,400 inhabitants. Contrasting to the previous census conducted in 2000, there is a decline of 378,000 inhabitants (-12.32%, or -1.31% annually). Xinzhou is the eighth populous city in Shanxi. The illiteracy rate of Xinzhou is 2.39%, a 1.13% decrease since 2010. Xinzhou’s sex ratio is 106:100 (Woman is 100).[8]